Chapter 524 – Three-Way Battle (8)
Qi Guanrang always thought his heart was already pretty filthy, but he didn’t expect his own Lord to have an even dirtier heart.
Ambushing people’s strongholds is one thing, but she even wanted to take Jiao Ping County without spending a single soldier!
With such skills, why not just ascend to the heavens?
Jiang Pengji shot a glare at Qi Guanrang, “What are you staring at me for? I’m just trying it out; time is still on our side…”
He silently shut his mouth and sent a message to the soldiers behind him, instructing them to find a soldier who could speak Northern dialect well.
Before long, an ordinary-looking soldier who could easily blend into a crowd was brought over. Qi Guanrang took a glance at him.
“Are you clever on a usual basis?”
Though this soldier looked average, his eyes were particularly bright, clearly indicating he was quick-witted.
The soldier was somewhat puzzled; after all, it was rare to have a conversation with someone in power. He certainly wanted to make a good impression.
The soldier grinned sheepishly and said, “Clever? Oh, I’m so clever it’s crazy, not a bit dumb.”
Qi Guanrang asked again, “How clever are we talking?”
The soldier, though confused, proudly replied, “Super clever! My mom used to beat me, but no matter how angry she was, when I opened my mouth, she would just cool off.”
Qi Guanrang furrowed his brows, thought for a moment, then waved him over.
“Come here, I have a task to entrust to you. Handle it well, and there’ll be a reward.”
Upon hearing there would be a reward, the soldier’s eyes sparkled. He quickly responded, “Just tell me what to do, I’ll make it look beautiful!”
Qi Guanrang said, “Lean in closer; let’s discuss this carefully.”
Jiao Ping County was remote, with just over a thousand soldiers of the Green Garment Army in town. With such little manpower to guard four city gates, the pressure was immense.
These Green Garment soldiers weren’t any regular army; the ones left were mostly old, weak, disabled, or just lazy good-for-nothings. Now it was late at night, and many were dozing off against the walls with their long rifles. For someone slightly agile, climbing over was no challenge at all.
Spring plowing had just wrapped up, the weather was unpredictable, but overall it was slightly warming up. At night, the wind was still icy to the bone.
Life for the common people in Jiao Ping County was tough; they felt like sheep raised by the Green Garment Army, routinely sheared for their last bit of wool.
The Green Garment Army had not treated these common people well and didn’t understand how to govern them, simply blocking them from leaving Jiao Ping County with increasingly severe measures. This made life for the common people increasingly miserable, leading to frequent attempts to escape by night.
Initially, the Green Garment Army used harsh methods to intimidate and terrorize. The people of Jiao Ping County were too scared to run away, so the number of escapees gradually dwindled.
However, the growing hardships tortured the populace so much that they would risk the danger of being caught and executed just to break free.
But how could they escape with the city gates tightly shut?
Little did they know, in this world, money could make the devil push the millstone, even enabling the millstone to push the devil!
If they gritted their teeth and pulled out their belongings to bribe the Green Garment soldiers on guard, if luck was on their side, they could still sneak out.
The Green Garment Army was just a bunch of rabble; they were common people themselves. If they turned a blind eye and let a couple of unimportant common folks slip through, who wouldn’t want to make a quick buck? Of course, they needed to keep it under wraps from their superiors.
For those guarding the city gates, this was a lucrative side job.
The petty affairs of Jiao Ping County had long been relayed back to Xiangyang.
Jiang Pengji had been fed up with her neighboring county for ages; knowing oneself and the enemy ensures a hundred battles without danger. She was quite familiar with Jiao Ping County.
The soldier she picked turned out to be clever; he found a secluded spot and climbed over the wall. He then squatted near the northeastern gate, as Jiang Pengji instructed, and after a quarter of an hour saw a few shadowy figures. He quickly waved to stop them.
They were all trying to “sneak out,” and upon being discovered by the soldier, they didn’t dare to make a sound.
One by one, they were so scared they almost lost their souls, worried about being caught by the Green Garment Army and facing a beating.
“Big brother… can I ask something…” The soldier, dressed in common people’s coarse clothes and speaking with a thick Northern dialect, clearly portrayed himself as a local while keeping his voice low, which sounded a bit odd, “Are you preparing to pay your way out of the city as well?”
This group consisted of nine people.
Two elders, three adult men, two emaciated women, each holding a sleeping child.
“What do you want?”
The leading burly man glared at the soldier fiercely, ready to pounce if he dared to rob them.
The soldier calmly replied, “Hey, don’t be in a rush; I mean no harm. I just see your family seems pretty pitiful, having saved up all your lives just to hand it to those Green Garment beasts. Isn’t it a shame?”
“Who are you?” the burly man didn’t relax, blocking the soldier’s line of sight with his body.
“Me? I’m just a guy from Xiangyang… Just look at this wool outfit I’ve got.”
Saying this, the soldier slightly rolled up his sleeve, revealing a warm woolen shirt underneath.
He cast a derisive glance at the group.
“This whole outfit costs a few hundred wen. I’m not here to covet your little money. To be honest, I escaped from here last winter. Back then, I was strapped for cash and couldn’t take my mom with me. Now that the Green Garment Army is about to collapse, I sneaked back in to bring my mom to enjoy life in Xiangyang.”
His story was detailed and believable, a true performance, lying and boasting without a hint of shame.
Most of the common people in Jiao Ping County had heard about woolen clothing but had never really seen it.
However, the burly man’s attention was drawn elsewhere, instead of that corner of a white wool sleeve.
“What do you mean the Green Garment Army has collapsed?”
The soldier paused for a moment, then said, “Don’t you know? The Green Garment beasts dragged everyone off to fight; who knows when they’ll be back. By now, there’re at most a thousand beasts left in the county town, most still sleeping like pigs. I’d wager that even if you cut off their heads now, most of them wouldn’t wake up. Otherwise, how could I have snuck in here? I figured you big brothers should be simple enough to approach the Green Garment soldiers at the gate, no need to spend any money. I was also at a loss back then, paid a ton of money, and had to gnaw on tree bark to get back to Xiangyang. Life’s been tough…”
