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“Can strategists really not ascend to the throne?”
Chapter 21 of “Can Strategists Ascend to the Throne?”
Xiaquyang, back in the early Western Han history, was set as a commandery after Emperor Jing quelled the Rebellion of the Seven States. Although it’s called Xiaquyang County, its status is half a tier above the usual county seat.
“Xiaquyang… why add a ‘xia’ in front of Quyang?”
Dian Wei was really annoyed by Qiao Yan’s advice about recognizing those few characters for future use and decided to play the topic-change game instead.
Cheng Li explained, “When the Qin set up commanderies and counties, they established the Greater Xuzhou Quyang County. When Emperor Gaozu set up the Hengshan commandery, Quyang County was included, but there’s still a Quyang in the Greater Xuzhou area, so they named them Upper Quyang and Lower Quyang.”
Dian Wei stared at the map unfolding before Qiao Yan and Cheng Li, matching the few characters he recognized for a long while, but he couldn’t see the words “Hengshan” anywhere.
The confusion on his face was too obvious for Qiao Yan to ignore.
“Are you curious why there’s no Hengshan?” Seeing Dian Wei nod, she responded, “Hengshan was renamed long ago to avoid the taboo regarding Emperor Xiaowen’s name.”
She pointed to a spot on the map, “It’s this Changshan commandery.”
Changshan, as in the one associated with Zhao Zilong.
Dian Wei was still a bit dazed, while Xu Fu, who memorized quickly, had a much better understanding. “So, the ancient Greater Xuzhou was divided into the current Greater Xuzhou and Changshan commanderies, each having a Quyang. Changshan is Upper Quyang, while we’re planning to launch a surprise attack on Lower Quyang of Greater Xuzhou.”
Seeing that Qiao Yan showed no intention to stop him from talking, Xu Fu continued, “But since Lower Quyang is half a tier above a regular county seat and Zhang Bao is defending it, does that mean it’s a fortified city?”
Qiao Yan and Cheng Li exchanged a glance, both seeing the words “A prodigy worth teaching” in each other’s eyes.
Cheng Li had a solid knowledge base. Although he didn’t realize that Qiao Yan was deliberately guiding Xu Fu on the way, he thought she was just bored and ended up teaching both Dian Wei and Xu Fu, but couldn’t overlook that Xu Fu was indeed a good learner.
Besides, Xu Fu seemed to regard Qiao Yan as a role model, lately realizing the importance of strategic wit in defeating enemies, which made him even more enthusiastic about learning.
Cheng Li, being twenty-five years older than Xu Fu, viewed this ambitious young man as if he were a nephew, and felt a twinge of affection for him.
He began explaining, “During the second year of the Geng Shi, the Wang Lang Rebellion occurred. At that time, Emperor Guangwu was still the General of Breaking the Enemies, who was forced to flee south to Xindu. After securing Tangyang, Shixian, and other areas, he amassed over four thousand men, and with two other forces joining, he gathered ten thousand people. Only then was he able to conquer Lower Quyang and take the Zhongshan Kingdom, solidifying his position. According to records, Quyang is indeed a fortified city; without enough manpower, it would be nearly impossible to breach the city walls in a direct assault.”
Once Qiao Yan led the three men up Gucheng Mountain with General Huangfu Song, it further confirmed this fact.
Gucheng Mountain is located just outside Quyang City.
While the infantry was still on the way, Huangfu Song had already taken a small cavalry unit up Gucheng Mountain to scout the enemy situation.
From Gucheng Mountain, he could see Lower Quyang County below.
The old moat was at least five or six meters wide, and around here, it was even over ten meters wide. Qiao Yan peered into the trench and saw that the moat had been temporarily drained.
But just because the moat was dry didn’t mean they were unprepared; judging by the depth, it was easy to guess that the bottom was certainly lined with plenty of wooden spikes, making it tougher to handle than water on all sides.
In front of the moat, there was a row of horse stakes surrounding the area outside the city.
“The Zhang brothers have almost taken Ji Province and have been killing officials and burning government buildings. I thought they might be getting lazy here, but I didn’t expect them to be quite vigilant,” Huangfu Song said, frowning at the scene before him.
Since he wanted a quick victory, he couldn’t engage in a stalemate siege against them, especially since there were spy networks all over Greater Xuzhou. They had made a detour around Qinghe to avoid detection, and now in the war at Lower Quyang, speed was of the essence.
“Fortunately, they’re still not professional defenders,” Cao Cao remarked, “If they had set up another line of defense behind the moat, adding that sheep and horse wall as an extra obstruction, it would make attacking Lower Quyang even more difficult.”
But it didn’t sound like a situation to be thankful for.
Things were already quite tricky as they were.
Qiao Yan couldn’t help but cast a sidelong glance at Cao Cao.
At least this guy wasn’t acting overly dramatic like in the novels for comic effect; he really was a bit of a jinx.
Otherwise, if the city gate opened now and a group came rushing out throwing iron caltrops and deer antler wood, they would be left utterly helpless.
To her, it wasn’t too surprising that Lower Quyang was well-fortified.
Zhang Jiao’s ability to establish a systematic teaching approach surely indicated a meticulous mind. In the wake of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, which nearly overturned the Han Dynasty, he wasn’t just a blunt weapon charging forward.
The interconnected defenses of three fortified cities and their positioning suggested Zhang Jiao’s intentions.
He was providing himself a way out.
If the Han army came from the southwest and confronted the yellow turbans unsuccessfully, they could retreat step by step, taking refuge in fortified cities and defending themselves… or perhaps…
Zhang Jiao might have anticipated his potential demise in a few months and wanted to leave an escape route for his brothers.
And if it weren’t for the defense here at Lower Quyang, it would likely not have been possible to defeat the infamous Liang Province army, especially the one that succeeded Lu Zhi in attacking Greater Xuzhou.
Of course, whether Dong Zhuo’s defeat had anything to do with his strategic misunderstandings with Greater Xuzhou’s prefect Guo Dian is still up for debate since Lu Zhi is still on the front lines against Zhang Jiao and hasn’t been dismissed.
But one thing’s for sure—
Lower Quyang was not easy to crack.
Huangfu Song climbed higher, reaching the summit of Gucheng Mountain north of Lower Quyang, continuing to gaze at the distant fortified city.
“If Lower Quyang was built against the mountains, we might have a chance to launch a surprise raid from this high ground,” Huangfu Song lamented, “Also, if we could scale the walls under the cover of darkness, betting on the enemy’s guards being caught off-guard by our approach from Qinghe, it might give us a chance to seize it.”
“But given the situation inside Lower Quyang,” Cao Cao replied, “if the guards are rotating methodically, we may not even reach the battlements before encountering their main forces. At that point, the siege would surely stall, or we may even trigger the alarm.”
Huangfu Song was not keen on causing any alarm either.
They were racing against time, having already filtered their personnel; they had no basis for a direct encirclement.
Thus—
“We still need to find a way to lure Zhang Bao’s main forces out of the city or send our people in for a strike from within,” Huangfu Song concluded after surveying the scene.
Qiao Yan agreed with this idea.
Although she didn’t have as much combat experience as Huangfu Song, she was viewing the situation from a modern perspective, applying the historical siege tactics to rule out possibilities.
To emphasize its significance, Lower Quyang was built with sturdier walls than an ordinary county; using the rabble-rousing tactics like those in the time of Li Zicheng, where soldiers would scurry to dig through walls and eventually topple them, was clearly off the table.
With Huangfu Song’s troops insufficient, strategies like encirclement or a Three-Sided Siege just wouldn’t work.
The only remaining options were to lure the enemy or conduct an inside-outside operation.
Qiao Yan had some ideas on both fronts, but when they returned to the military camp where the soldiers were encamped, Huangfu Song had already made his decision.
Send someone into the city for an inside-outside operation!
“Actually, luring the enemy is feasible, although it’s a bit risky,” Huangfu Song mentioned without directly addressing Qiao Yan, but she tactfully stepped back to chat with the system, “If someone were to seek an audience with Zhang Bao outside the city, claiming the Great Virtuous Teacher suddenly passed away and that the funeral is currently kept under wraps, asking Zhang Bao for troops, he might just believe it.”
“But if there are any secret signals between the brothers, that trick wouldn’t work. This kind of unreliable method won’t do.”
Not sure if the system was feeling a blind confidence lately, it replied immediately: [You should be able to pull it off.]
“……That’s really not necessary.”
She did want to take advantage of the standoff between the Ji Province Yellow Turbans and the Han army to gain some prestige, but it didn’t mean she was ready to undertake such risky maneuvers.
Even though she fully understood the saying that fortune favors the brave, she wasn’t planning to do it this way.
Huangfu Song continued speaking from the front.
He intended to send someone into the city through a similar method as Qiao Yan suggested earlier—
Infiltration.
As Qiao Yan listened to the system murmur, [Huangfu Song must have been influenced by your ideas to come up with this. I wonder if it will earn you strategist points.] She also heard Huangfu Song asking, “Is there anyone willing to go?”
This wasn’t a simple mission.
In a siege, the infiltrator usually had to take on the responsibility of opening the city gates and eliminating enemy soldiers on the walls, which, if discovered, would have a higher death rate than being in the first wave of an assault.
Huangfu Song’s words were essentially a recruitment for a suicide squad.
But among the soldiers from the border who were accompanying him, there were plenty who disregarded life and death. Those who were summoned into the military tent were among the elite, and soon, a chorus of volunteers arose.
Huangfu Song felt relieved, but suddenly heard a quite youthful voice among the crowd, which managed to stand out because it felt a bit out of place.
And because of that statement, the military tent went quiet.
“I actually think they shouldn’t go.”
She turned to look at Qiao Yan.
“Why not?” Huangfu Song knew she wouldn’t make such a judgment casually and didn’t show any annoyance at being interrupted.
“Those from the military have traits that differ from regular folks.” Qiao Yan’s gaze drifted across the other people in the tent, smiling, “Especially since all the generals present have bloody killing records, capable of intimidating the Hu people, those who share such traits are probably used to looking at each other as comrades, but from my point of view, they stand out too much.”
Her words eased the expressions of those old soldiers who had initially felt disgruntled by her interruption.
This was a genuine compliment.
There’s a fundamental difference between soldiers and bandits.
Qiao Yan continued, “General Huangfu, who do you think would choose to ally with the Yellow Turbans?”
Huangfu Song had indeed pondered this question. When he was granted the title of Left Middle General and dispatched with troops, he had contemplated repeatedly why he hadn’t been valued previously, even when officials around the country regarded the Taiping Dao as mere healers, yet in a moment, they caused such a situation today.
The answer might be a bit brutally simple: those who can’t survive must find a way to survive.
But he couldn’t say that outright; the best he could do was respond with “refugees.”
Qiao Yan had no intention to delve further into that issue, merely continuing,
“Looking at it from the refugee perspective, most of them struggle to fill their bellies, appearing haggard and emaciated during such times. The military’s diet tends to be rich in meat to sustain soldiers for fighting and marching, which would look notably different from the common folk. That’s another flaw. Fortunately, there’s another group that might join the Yellow Turbans and happen to be part of this military.”
“You mean… the wandering knights?” Huangfu Song’s mind lit up, realizing there was indeed a more fitting group as Qiao Yan indicated.
Qiao Yan responded, “Some of the wandering knights as you’ve seen before came to break the siege of Changshe, unafraid of the fatigue of swift attacks alongside you marching from Ji Province, yet there would likely be some who believe the Han dynasty is beyond saving, and wouldn’t mind joining forces with the Yellow Turbans, thinking it the way to bring peace to the world. It’s highly possible they have gone to the Yellow Turbans.”
Huangfu Song nodded in agreement, “Indeed, the wandering knights can take on this role; however, those willing to follow me northward are members of the Han’s loyalists, and entering the city is a task where any mishap would mean losing their heads…”
It was a point he found difficult to voice.
But before Huangfu Song could finish, Xu Fu, who had followed Qiao Yan into the tent, suddenly declared, “General needs not say more; I’m willing to go!”
Xu Fu didn’t make such a decision lightly.
He still had a mother to support back in Yingchuan, and though he had come because of his respect for Qiao Yan, he certainly wasn’t joking with his life.
But seeing Huangfu Song’s impressive military arrangements on this journey, he understood that if anyone could defeat the Yellow Turbans and restore the world, it had to be General Huangfu.
With their reconnaissance prior to heading to Gucheng Mountain, assured there were people like Qiao Yan, Cheng Yu, and Cao Cao working on plans, their odds of victory seemed more than decent.
This was Xu Fu’s thought process, and others shared a similar mindset.
Moreover, most wandering knights were still quite young, fitting the “chuunibyou” description in modern terms, and already having chosen to follow northward, they were keen on making a name for themselves. Hearing they had a chance to compete with the vanguard troop in terms of merit excited them immensely.
When Huangfu Song asked the others in the camp about this, he received a response with around seventy to eighty percent wishing to volunteer.
Of course, with so many gathered at one spot, even if they were usually friendly wandering knights, explaining ties to the residents of Greater Xuzhou was impossible. So Huangfu Song selected only a dozen individuals, which included Xu Fu.
However, Huangfu Song didn’t expect that just as he distributed some military supplies to these strategic volunteers, using them as a kind of recognition before they set off, he noticed Qiao Yan sitting on one of the wagons.
Even Cao Cao was startled by her move, “Why are you doing this, my dear niece?”
Qiao Yan countered with a question that left Cao Cao with no valid rebuttal: “Have you ever seen someone involved in inside-outside operations go along with their little sister?”
“…… No.”
“Well then, my presence serves as excellent cover.”
Reluctantly stepping into the role of older brother, Xu Fu suddenly felt the weight on his shoulders grow heavier.
Fortunately, it wasn’t just him responsible for Qiao Yan’s safety.
If one had to count, Dian Wei could also be considered a wandering knight; with that looks of his, one would be surprised if the rebel faction didn’t see him as one of their own.
Huangfu Song wanted to advise Qiao Yan not to engage in this dangerous mission, but he couldn’t find a way to counter her dubious logic, so he ultimately had to let her go.
Particularly as Qiao Yan inquired before leaving, “In this group of over ten, besides me, is there anyone else capable of acting independently?” It felt like there was no second answer to that question.
These wandering knights hadn’t experienced many battles under Huangfu Song’s command, so he could hardly know their backgrounds well enough. Handing such a crucial task to them made his heart feel a little uneasy.
But he had no such concerns handing this mission over to Qiao Yan.
After all, she had already…
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“She has proven herself to be a wise one, maturing far too early.”
Seeing Huangfu Song lost in thought, gazing at the group that was leaving, Cao Cao chimed in, “It’s no surprise she’d risk herself. With her intelligence, if something were to go down in the city, her quick thinking might even save those righteous souls.”
“Besides, since the general has agreed to let her face danger, we must ensure the siege attack doesn’t fail. We need to make sure it succeeds in one go. If this surprise attack fails, Zhang Bao will be ready for us, and that won’t help us in the northern campaign.”
Cao Cao’s advice really hit home for Huangfu Song. As the commanding general, he knew he shouldn’t be indecisive.
“I’m not oblivious to what Meng De has said, but this girl is determined and exceptionally clever. If she gets hurt here, I won’t just be letting Qiao Gongzu down, but it will surely be a great loss for the Han as well. However—”
“However, in times of hardship, heroes are often born.”
As the departing group faded from his view, Huangfu Song couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration.
When this group of more than ten, dressed in simple clothes and carrying side swords, arrived at the gates of Xiaquyang, just as Qiao Yan had said—
Although they were not emaciated refugees, they called themselves wandering knights from afar, coming here seeking refuge, and didn’t raise any suspicions from the city guards.
Following Qiao Yan’s instructions, Xu Fu replied when asked why he had brought along a young girl, “My younger sister was weak before. With the blessing of the Great Virtuous Teacher’s disciple who gave her Talisman Water, she’s able to live on. I’ve come to seek the General of the Earth’s blessings as well; I just wonder how many merits we need to earn to have this opportunity?”
The Scripture of Great Peace refers to divine talismans in its chants, stating, “In heaven, there are eternal holy words, and they are given to people now, allowing the divine officials to respond to prayers.” The cure involves burning talismans and mixing the ash with wine and water to drink.
This absurd method of healing is classic superstition, and naturally, Qiao Yan wouldn’t have memorized such nonsense before she traveled here.
But during her time with Liang Zhongning as a strategist, she had picked up a copy of the Scripture of Great Peace to pass the time and now found bits of it useful to impress them.
XU Fu repeated these lines, and the minor rebel leader was quite taken aback to see someone articulate these matters so well.
He couldn’t help but think that with someone of such awareness and armed with a sword in hand, it was a great fortune for their side.
Moreover, in his mind, bringing along a woman was like having a liability, making them appear less threatening.
Xu Fu’s inquiry about whether their merits could exchange for Talisman Water eased some of his suspicions.
He clapped Xu Fu on the shoulder, saying, “If you really want that divine talisman to heal, you should be heading to Guangzong directly. But don’t worry, the General of the Earth’s abilities are only beneath the Great Virtuous Teacher. If you’ve truly come with sincerity, you’ll definitely get your chance.”
“Why wouldn’t I want to go to Quzhou or Guangzong?” Qiao Yan, still sitting on the cart, cleared her throat softly, “I just fear that the frequent conflicts near the junction of Julu and Guangping wouldn’t be good for my health. On the other hand, this Xiaquyang area is peaceful under the General of the Earth’s reputation; it’s a good place to be.”
“That much is true,” the minor rebel leader conceded.
They felt secure here!
He looked at Qiao Yan, whose weak demeanor seemed genuine, and felt sympathy for Xu Fu’s role as an elder brother. Just then, his gaze fell on Dian Wei.
This fellow was no ordinary person, both in stature and demeanor!
“May I ask who this is…?” he marveled, noticing how the seemingly fierce figure only looked back at him with a blank face when he tried to intimidate him.
Dian Wei hadn’t even brought his trusty Heavy Halberd along; bringing that weapon would make it hard for anyone to believe he was just an ordinary fellow seeking refuge. He only carried a sword, just enough to make sure he didn’t arrive empty-handed.
When the minor rebel leader posed his question, Dian Wei smiled widely, “I heard that the Yellow Turbans can eat well here. Previously, I traveled with these youngsters, and they often scolded me for eating too much. They said this cart of food was meant for you guys. Since I’m here to join you, I figured a little early eating wouldn’t hurt.”
“…” Dian Wei’s bold statement had left the minor rebel leader at a loss for words.
He glanced at the wandering knights, noticing their faces filled with a mix of anger and powerlessness, thinking that somehow a chaotic figure had mixed in with them.
But hey, as long as he could eat… it wasn’t too big of a deal.
With someone of Dian Wei’s size and strength, even if he ate for an army, that could be overlooked.
After the minor rebel leader had a brief bout with Dian Wei, his eyes lit up.
“Tiger General, you truly embody the spirit of a tiger!” He immediately ran to Zhang Bao to share the news, specifically about Dian Wei.
Zhang Bao, entrusted with guarding Xiaquyang by Zhang Jiao among the Zhang brothers, was indeed a steady individual.
After hearing this news, he didn’t get overly excited by the minor rebel leader’s praise; instead, he raised an eyebrow and asked:
“Is everything alright?”
Whether it was due to a letter from his brother mentioning his declining health, or just a general sense of unease, Zhang Bao felt a bit jittery lately, even though their surroundings were lively, and the previous Taishou of Julu was already dead in his hands. Logic dictated that as long as they weren’t losing at the front, there should be no issues.
Thinking this through, he still had the habit of making routine inquiries.
“It should be alright. They’ve even brought along a girl just over ten years old, asking the General of the Earth for a talisman to cure her. From what I see, the brother seems genuine,” the minor rebel leader assured confidently.
But little did he know, Xu Fu’s concern was not of an older brother for a younger sister; it was more the affections of a fan for an idol.
Zhang Bao clearly wasn’t entirely at ease with his answer; he asked again, “What about the movements in the west and south that I asked you to keep an eye on?”
The minor rebel leader slapped his chest confidently, “You can rest easy, General! Ever since you asked me to pay closer attention, I haven’t slacked off for even a day. Speaking of which, the blockade at Luoyang has only a few bold teams venturing out to remove the rebels. Currently, the battles along all fronts are under the control of the Great Virtuous Teacher. Is your concern perhaps a bit excessive…?”
Before he could finish his sentence, a kick landed on his shins from Zhang Bao.
Zhang Bao frowned and shouted, “What do you know? Even my elder brother must tread carefully around that old Confucian, Lu Zhi. This tactic is hardly trivial. Just because it’s peaceful in Xiaquyang today doesn’t mean the court’s soldiers won’t come storming in tomorrow. If anything goes wrong, how do you expect me to account for it to my brother?”
“And regarding this Tiger General…” Zhang Bao analyzed the information shared by the minor rebel leader, particularly focusing on what was said about Dian Wei, “Bring him to me tomorrow.”
But he probably wouldn’t get to see Dian Wei.
This whole infiltration of Xiaquyang didn’t resemble Qiao Yan’s previous job under Liang Zhongning much at all.
Because this time, there was no process of building trust through achievements or a length of time spent together!
Once they got into the city, as soon as Huangfu Song spotted the signal from Gucheng Mountain, they’d charge in under the cover of night.
It was all about a quick and decisive blow!
Qiao Yan and her group, having been set up comfortably in the city thanks to Dian Wei’s fearsome presence and Xu Fu’s eloquence about the core tenets of the Way of Great Peace, secured themselves a proper place to rest.
Once the door was shut, she sprang back to life from her sickly demeanor, plotting the night’s actions.
Her current condition was indeed much better than before; she could swing Huangfu Song’s side sword and chop off Bo Cai’s head, but Qiao Yan was quite self-aware—
With her current skills, actually going up against others would be like asking for trouble.
Those former soldiers, seasoned in real battles, could easily take her out without breaking a sweat.
Ensuring she could feign her way through the city and persuade the Yellow Turbans there was already more than half the task done.
As they entered through the East Gate of Xiaquyang and reached their temporary resting place, she feigned a cough to look sickly while secretly scanning for a hiding spot.
She had already devised a plan in her mind.
As for how the others were to assist Huangfu Song through the East Gate, she had a brilliant excuse lined up.
The majority of the cart of grain they had brought had been half-pushed into the hands of the minor rebel leader.
In this light push-and-pull, the acceptance was clearly predominant, especially since what had been claimed as grain actually consisted of a large portion of preserved pork.
At that moment, the minor rebel leader was busy figuring out how to report the situation of Dian Wei back to Zhang Bao while slickly pulling him into his ranks, barely paying attention to anything else, thus saving Qiao Yan the trouble of explaining her previous excuses.
Now, apart from the dried cakes and white bread, there remained a few packs of preserved pork.
XU Fu managed to cook the meat with the tools available here and sliced it thinly, wrapping it up and sending it up to the city walls as night fell.
The reason was quite easy to justify.
With this group being able to enter, from then on they were part of the Yellow Turbans; it didn’t truly matter how familiar they were with others in the city, but they surely had to build a solid rapport with the few they had first met.
Especially with the minor rebel leader, who was the second-in-command in Xiaquyang. If they could get him to speak a few good words for Xu Fu in front of Zhang Bao, it would hardly be an issue to ask for Talisman Water for his sister.
To show their sincerity, none of them brought their blades and swords with them.
The minor rebel leader, having received compliments from Xu Fu and the others, quickly forgot how haughty he had felt earlier, nearly incurring Zhang Bao’s ire earlier.
He sat with these individuals on the city walls, enjoying the slightly chilly night breeze, munching on warm meat—talk about living large!
If it weren’t for his important position guarding the city, and the strict rule set by Zhang Bao against drinking, he would’ve certainly helped himself to some wine.
“Thank goodness you came to find me now; if it were later in the night, I’d have to change shifts,” the minor rebel leader said, “To top it off, food in this city, especially meat, isn’t handed out every day; I’ve got some leftover to drink on my own.”
Xu Fu exchanged glances with a boy close by and both saw the relief in each other’s eyes.
If it were anyone else, it wouldn’t have been so easy to start getting chummy.
A trace of pity in their eyes was quickly challenged by the minor rebel leader’s next remark, “That Xiaquyang County Clerk is truly worthless. There aren’t even a few bottles of wine stored in the treasury; every little bit counts, lucky for him, he has a beautiful wife…”
He seemingly realized his words were inappropriate, immediately halting and awkwardly switching topics, “By the way, now that you’re all here, is your sister tucked away safely?”
Xu Fu replied calmly, “Don’t worry; she’s just a bit weak, but she’s already resting.”
Of course, Qiao Yan wasn’t resting.
After Xu Fu and the others left, she too abandoned their temporary resting spot, stopping in front of a water vat meant for extinguishing fires just two streets away, and without a second thought, she jumped inside.
The green moss covering the vat’s outer wall indicated it hadn’t been used for a while, not to mention the few cracks showing its age.
This was her chosen hiding spot.
She couldn’t stay in her previous place.
If there was chaos in the city, it was hard to say they wouldn’t think of the good they’d done. As for other residences, she lacked the skills to leap over walls and was bound to cause more trouble.
So this place was undoubtedly better.
With only a bit of water remaining at the bottom of the vat, Qiao Yan, having mingled with the Yellow Turbans, hardly cared that this puddle barely reached her ankles.
She carefully concealed herself within this unremarkable vat, placing the lid back over.
However, her decision to hide here wasn’t just about finding cover; historically, siege battles rarely recorded occurrences of street fighting.
This stands in stark contrast to modern times.
The reason encircling strategies are often used to lure enemies out of the city, draining their morale for a last stand, is that once the city fell, the best approach was not to hide in alleyways and houses but to attempt a breakout to survive.
In this respect, this place was far safer than anywhere else.
Almost as she finished this action, at the East Gate, Xu Fu suddenly pulled a dagger from his bosom.
It’s true that the minor rebel leader, having enjoyed only the meat without wine, was unlikely to pass out, but after chatting with these savvy lads for a while, his defenses had already slipped significantly, and his gaze had grown lax.
Especially since he saw no signs of any enemies approaching outside the walls.
The ditch and horse stakes at the bottom of the city only reinforced his sense of security.
Even when Xu Fu pressed his hand on his shoulder, he thought it was merely him being too approachable, making the new arrival trust him easily.
But just then, Xu Fu struck!
With his sleeve shielding the action, the dagger gleamed not a single glint of light, and in the moment it came into view, it had already plunged deep into the leader’s chest.
The minor rebel leader stared in disbelief at the youth in front of him, noticing the earlier exuberance on his face now overshadowed by a calm demeanor, as if stabbing him was a well-thought-out decision.
This was clearly not how an ordinary wandering knight would act!
He had many questions he wanted to ask, but as the dagger was withdrawn, he could only succumb to the inevitable.
In his fading sight, he realized he was not the only one who acted; the ferocious Tiger General had seized a Yellow Turban soldier’s sword, cutting down three without hesitation.
What left him most unsettled was—
Following the first cries of alarm echoing out through the city, the unmistakable sounds of troops marching from beyond the walls came even clearer than the reinforcements from within.
The distant thudding of hooves and the clattering of armor sounded like an advancing army.
Unfortunately, he would never find out the nature of that coming force.
Xu Fu shoved aside the lifeless body, hurrying straight for the winch atop the city tower.
Having entrusted this heavy duty to him, and knowing that Qiao Yan believed in him and offered guidance, he had to deliver impeccably!
He could see clearly that a banner bearing the characters “Huangfu” was fluttering in the wind among the approaching troops!
That was the force he was set to welcome!
