The Three Kingdoms: The Oath of the Peach Garden, the Rise of the Han Dynasty

The moment the city gates opened, Bian Zhang stood on the city wall, his palms sweating profusely.

He watched as the "Qiang reinforcements" filed into the city.

The queue appeared sparse on the surface, but there was a strange sense of order within it!

Unlike any other Qiang or Hu tribe's army!

Bian Zhang's suspicions grew increasingly certain, but he remained silent. He simply scanned the faces of those people again and again, searching for that familiar figure from a few days ago.

He glanced at it several times, but found absolutely nothing!

Inside the city gate, Moji led five hundred men to a stop.

He dismounted, planted his spear on the ground, glanced at the guards at the city gate, and grinned.

"Brothers, you've worked hard. We're here to relieve you."

Before the rebel defenders could react, five hundred "Qiang people" had already dispersed and occupied the steps, towers, and winch rooms on both sides of the city gate.

The rebel garrison commander in charge of the city gate opened his mouth as if to say something, but Xu Rong slapped him on the shoulder:

"Don't be nervous, we're on the same side."

At the same time, Bian Zhang came down from the city wall and greeted Liu Bei.

The two exchanged a glance!

Geek!

It's him!

They exchanged a glance amidst the vast army!

Bian Zhang saw the sword at Liu Bei's waist. The hilt was wrapped with an old tassel, which was not the style of the sword worn by the Qiang generals at all!

After a moment of silence, he found nothing!

He simply stepped aside to make way for the road into the city, and casually remarked:

"The Prefect's Office is in the center of the city. Bei Gong Boyu left 10,000 men to guard the city, 4,000 on the four city walls, 3,000 around the Prefect's Office, and the rest scattered in various barracks."

Han Sui's men were transferred to garrison outside the city overnight, and there are currently no of his troops inside the city.

Liu Bei looked at him and nodded. The two understood each other without saying a word.

He cupped his hands in thanks: "Thank you."

Bian Zhang turned around and waved to the guards behind him:

"Pass down the order: General Beigong has commanded that everyone await the arrival of reinforcements and must not resist."

The guards were stunned for a moment, then ran away quickly.

Bian Zhang looked at the streets and alleys of Ji County and let out a long breath, as if he had finally expelled the stone that had been pressing on his chest for several months.

Alright, he wasn't sure if Han Sui was a loyal subject of the Han Dynasty, but now he is definitely a loyal subject of the Han Dynasty!

Less than half an hour later.

With Bian Zhang, the former nominal second-in-command of the rebels, leading the way, the process of taking control of the entire city went exceptionally smoothly.

The 10,000 troops left behind by Beigong Boyu, seeing that their commander had surrendered and those who did not surrender had died, had no will to resist.

Most people immediately dropped their weapons and knelt down to surrender, while the few who resisted stubbornly were quickly wiped out by Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun with their men.

In less than half an hour, all the key locations, including the four gates, military camps, government offices, and granaries, fell into the hands of the Han army.

Just then, torches suddenly lit up all over the city.

Those powerful families who had been driven to desperation by Beigong Boyu finally got their chance.

They led thousands of servants out from all the streets and alleys, killing any of Beigong Boyu's confidants they encountered.

"Kill the traitors! Welcome the royal army!"

"To avenge the clansmen killed by Beigong Boyu!"

"Take back our food!"

Shouts of battle rose and fell.

In less than an hour, all of Beigong Boyu's trusted confidants left in the city were killed.

The city of Ji County was completely pacified.

When Guan Yu and Li Chang led their main force to the city of Ji, the city gates were already wide open and the flags on the city walls had been changed.

It turned out that, through his efforts to sow discord over the past few days, Li Chang had boldly predicted that Beigong Boyu and Han Sui would eventually turn against each other! Therefore, he made two preparations in advance: firstly, he moved the supplies; secondly, he was prepared for any unforeseen circumstances!

Even today, Han Sui is the vanguard! So, Li Chang only left footprints of retreating eastward, while the others traveled lightly, circled around, and returned to Ji County.

"Brother!" Guan Yu dismounted. "I have successfully completed my mission. The main force has arrived, and not a single person has fallen behind."

"Good! Good!" Liu Bei patted Guan Yu's shoulder excitedly. "With you two here, I can rest assured!"

Li Chang walked to Liu Bei's side, looked at the orderly streets of the city, and nodded:

"Brother, we've taken control of Ji County so quickly. Even if Beigong Boyu wanted to come back to help, it would be too late."

"Thanks to Bian Zhang and the powerful families in the city," Liu Bei said with a smile.

"By the way, Fourth Brother, go and check the treasury and granaries to see how much food we have left. I'm worried that we won't have enough food to last."

"it is good."

Li Chang immediately took Jian Yong and Xiahou Lan to inspect the granary and treasury.

Half an hour later, the three returned, their faces beaming with undisguised joy!

"Brother, this is wonderful news!" Jian Yong exclaimed excitedly, "There's no shortage of food in the city!"

"Oh?" Liu Bei was taken aback.

"That's right." Li Chang nodded and took out an account book:

"Bei Gong Boyu previously confiscated the property of seven prominent families in the city, seizing 120,000 shi of grain, 30,000 bolts of cloth, and 5 million coins."

Adding the grain stored in the original granary and the grain transported later, and subtracting the consumption, there are now 130,000 shi of grain in the city, enough to feed our 20,000 troops for half a year!

General Huangfu will be there by then!

"Really?!" Zhang Fei's eyes widened. "No wonder Beigong Boyu, with his 100,000 men, wasn't in a hurry to attack us!"

Liu Bei looked at the numbers in the account book and let out a long sigh of relief.

My heart, which had been hanging in suspense for several days, has finally been put at ease.

Food supplies are the lifeblood of an army.

With this 130,000 shi of grain, they no longer needed to worry about logistics and could focus on dealing with the remnants of Beigong Boyu and Han Sui outside the city.

"That's wonderful!" Liu Bei exclaimed excitedly.

"Pass down the order: the entire army will have an extra meal tonight! A treat for the brothers! Also, open the granaries and take out 10,000 shi of grain to relieve the poor people in the city."

"promise!"

When the news spread, the people of the city cheered.

When the Han army arrived, they not only did not commit any offenses, but also opened the granaries to distribute grain, for which the people were all deeply grateful!

"General Liu is truly a benevolent ruler!"

"Yes! If General Liu had come sooner, we wouldn't have suffered so much!"

"From now on, if anyone speaks ill of the Han army again, I'll be the first to confront them!"

Inside the prefect's residence, everyone gathered together.

Liu Bei sat in the main seat, looking down at Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Pang De, Xu Rong, Jian Yong, Xiahou Lan, Bian Zhang and others, his heart filled with boundless pride!

From a few hundred local militiamen who started their rebellion in Zhuojun, to now commanding nearly 20,000 troops and occupying Ji County, the suppression of the Liangzhou rebellion is just around the corner.

He took a deep breath:

"Gentlemen, Ji County has fallen, but the war is not over yet. Beigong Boyu and Han Sui are still fighting outside the city, and they still have more than 50,000 troops."

"Prepare to defend the city immediately and hold out until General Huangfu arrives!!"

Liu Bei's army switched from attacking to defending the city. At this moment, they deliberately ventured deep into the heart of the territory and held the isolated city!

The crowd responded in unison, their voices echoing throughout the hall.

……

This morning, Li Chang said to Liu Bei, "For the sake of the people of Ji County, we should disregard our own lives and take the initiative to plan and save Ji County!"

Liu Bei agreed!

After escaping Liu Bei, Li Chang then approached Zuo Feng, the military supervisor who was trying to flee: "Imperial envoy, there is great merit and great wealth! Are you willing to take it?"

Zuo Feng was intrigued and asked, "What is it?"

Li Chang: "Launch a surprise attack on Ji County and seize the city amidst the chaos!"

After handing over a large sum of money to Zuo Feng, he added, "At that time, the entire Hanyang could have been recovered in one fell swoop. It's just a pity that Liu Zhonglang's troops were few, and the reinforcements arrived too late, resulting in its fall again!"

Zuo Feng weighed the item in his hand and nodded earnestly: "Military Advisor Li is indeed utterly loyal to the Han Dynasty. His Majesty will surely recognize his loyalty!"

Now, in front of Zuo Feng's treasury, he is confronting a group of powerful clans over the money and provisions for the emperor, himself, and Liu Bei's army!