Chapter 354: Scaring Himself
Editor: Atlas Studios
“Let’s leave from Hanzhong Prefecture.” The deputy general’s eyes were filled with hatred. “We’ll kill our way over and let the Han people remember that we, the Jurchens, are not so easy to bully.”
However, someone said hesitantly, “Sir, there are pursuers behind us. If all of this is a scheme by the Han Chinese, will there be soldiers lying in ambush in Hanzhong Prefecture?”
The deputy general’s expression changed. He thought about how the Jingzhao Prefecture had suddenly been surrounded and how they had encountered a fierce attack. The reinforcements had not arrived for a long time. Even the messengers who had gone out to deliver the message had not returned. They had no choice but to break out of the siege and use the method of besieging Wei to save Zhao1 to force Qi Xiuyuan to return to reinforce them…
The deputy general was bewildered. Why did they break out so easily? It was obvious that Qi Xiuyuan let them out on purpose to reduce their pressure. 5,000 people were indeed not worth mentioning in front of tens of thousands of troops, but what if these 5,000 people were all elite soldiers?
Those who could break out of the encirclement with the general were all brave Jurchen warriors. One of them could fight against three people alone, and if these 5,000 elite soldiers were all used to defend the city, they could block about 20,000 people.
The deputy general’s expression changed drastically. He muttered, “We’ve been tricked. This is all a scheme by the Han people. There must be more than 2,000 people on the city tower. They hid their troops. There might be someone lying in ambush in Hanzhong Prefecture. We were in a hurry to attack Xingcheng Pass previously, so we didn’t notice. They must be waiting to ambush us on our way back.”
“Then, Sir, what should we do?”
“Walk along the east of Hanzhong Prefecture. I remember there’s a path there. After crossing East Valley, take a detour to the Wu pass.”
After the deputy general gave the order, everyone immediately gathered their troops and headed towards the eastern line of Hanzhong Prefecture. When Mu Shi saw this, he narrowed his eyes slightly. He did not know if this was a scheme of the other party, but he had to ensure that they would cross the eastern line and not turn around to harm the citizens of Hanzhong Prefecture. Therefore, Mu Shi immediately led his men to chase after them at a moderate distance. Such a speed would make the other party run for their lives without letting up, but they would not exchange blows.
If it was any other time, the deputy general would definitely have noticed that something was wrong. However, Tudan’s death had dealt him a fatal blow. Coupled with the fact that he had frightened himself previously, his mind was now muddled. He only knew that he had to reach the Wu pass as soon as possible and attack Qi Xiuyuan from the back so that he could atone for their failure.
“Battalion Commander Mu, the Wu pass is right ahead.”
“The Wu pass is easy to defend but difficult to attack, similar to Xingcheng Pass. There’s a general guarding it. We don’t have many people, so there’s no need to pay attention to it. Return to Hanzhong Prefecture, close the city gate, and enter a state of alert.”
Mu Shi’s arrival made the Magistrate Fang of Hanzhong Prefecture cry. He had been living in fear and suffering for the past two days, fearful that the Jin soldiers would return and massacre his citizens. He was even more afraid that the Great Zhou would give up on the Hanzhong Prefecture. Many advisors persuaded him to take the opportunity to escape. He was also tempted, but looking at the commoners outside, he could not move. Now that Mu Shi was here, he no longer had to feel tormented.
Mu Shi sent someone to deliver a letter to his daughter, informing her that he would stay in Hanzhong Prefecture.
The originally empty Hanzhong Prefecture instantly came to life. Flags were placed on the city gate tower, and the city gate opened for all the commoners to enter. It only closed at night. Not only were the bailiffs guarding the city gate tower, but there were also young men who volunteered to help defend the city.
Mu Shi comforted Magistrate Fang and said, “General has never given up on Hanzhong Prefecture. We chased the Jin soldiers away from the eastern front. All of this was within General’s calculations.” Then, he said regretfully, “It’s a pity that we don’t have enough troops. Otherwise, if we had laid an ambush in Hanzhong Prefecture, we would definitely be able to wipe out the Jin soldiers.”
Magistrate Fang forced a smile. Even though he was angry, he could not flare up now. He was still counting on Mu Shi to defend the city for him.
To put it nicely, everything was within his calculations. Previously, it was uncertain if Xingzhou Prefecture could be defended. In any case, he knew that Hanzhong Prefecture had been unprotected by Qi Xiuyuan for two days. He and the citizens of Hanzhong Prefecture had also been living in fear for two days.
Seeing the anger in Magistrate Fang’s eyes, Mu Shi did not know how to explain. He only scratched his head and felt that he should wait for the General and Military Advisor to return before letting them deal with it.
Mu Shi felt that if he were in Magistrate Fang’s shoes, he would definitely be very angry as well. However, he was a soldier now, and there were risks in war to begin with. They did not have enough people, so they could only adopt the plan that was most advantageous to the battle.
At this moment, Mu Yangling had just arrived at Wu Shancai’s house with Xu Shi.
After Mu Shi went to chase after the Jin soldiers, she stayed on the city tower to deal with the follow-up matters. Only when she was done arranging everything did she think of Wu Jin. She quickly called the three guards over to ask. Only then did she know that Wu Jin had been detained by his father.
The guard said angrily, “Miss, if Wu Shancai wants to escape, so be it. Why did he have to capture Young Master Wu? All of us were captured and brought to the magistrate’s residence. Without the long delay, we should have arrived long ago.”
“Has Wu Shancai escaped?”
“Not yet.” A guard said proudly, “Miss, didn’t you ask two people to keep an eye on him? When they realized that Wu Shancai wanted to escape, they went to inform the city gate that anyone can leave, but not Wu Shancai. When Wu Shancai reached the city gate, he was forced to return.” After saying that, he laughed out loud.
Mu Yangling raised her eyebrows. “I remember that the bailiffs guarding the south city gate are from the government office, right?”
All the soldiers in the city had gone up the city wall, so the bailiffs could only guard the south gate. Weren’t those people Wu Shancai’s subordinates?
“We’ve already said that if they dare to let Wu Shancai go, regardless of whether we win or lose this battle, the General will definitely use them as sacrifices when he comes back. Even their families won’t have a good ending. Wu Shancai is an official of the Imperial Court. If he escapes, he will at most be demoted. These bailiffs will definitely be the ones to bear the crime. Since these bailiffs’ ancestors are all in Xingzhou Prefecture, what they’re most afraid of is implicating their families. Therefore, although Wu Shancai made a big fuss, they didn’t let him get out.”
“Then why was he willing to let you go?”
“It was Young Master Wu who convinced him,” the guard said proudly. At that time, Wu Jin looked at his father with grief and indignation and said, “Father, this bow and arrows are for killing the enemy’s general. If they succeed, the siege of Xingzhou Prefecture can be resolved. Even if not, they would’ve tried their best. However, if this bow and arrows aren’t sent to Miss Mu, regardless of whether the city can be defended successfully or not, you will be blamed for the fallen soldiers and commoners. Even if the Emperor can let you off, will the commoners of Xingzhou Prefecture and Hanzhong Prefecture let you off? Will Brother Qi Xiuyuan let you off? Father, I know your painstaking efforts, but you have to think for your son, for your grandson, and for the ancestors of the Wu family. We don’t want to bear this infamy. We don’t!”
Wu Shancai’s face turned red from his son’s words. Glaring at his son in embarrassment and anger, he said, “Do you think I want to escape? It’s all because of you. Otherwise, I would have left last night. Unfilial son, unfilial son, how did I give birth to a son like you?”
Although he was scolding his son fiercely, Wu Shancai still released Xu Shi and three guards and handed the bow and arrows to them. However, he detained the remaining seven guards and his son. He did not know why he did this, but he felt much more at ease after doing so.
Wu Jin had been crying until his tears and snot came out. At this moment, he wiped his emotions away and knelt on the ground with his neck shrunk.
Wu Shancai’s heart twitched as he watched, furious. This son of his was usually weak and incompetent, but at critical moments, he would be bound by loyalty even if it meant hindering his father. It was always like this. Why was it that nothing good happened whenever he met Qi Haoran and Mu Yangling?
In his grief and indignation, Wu Shancai glared at his son and did not ask him to get up. Therefore, when the servant reported that Mu Yangling wanted to see him, Wu Shancai was still glaring at his son who was kneeling on the ground.