Chapter Twenty-Four: Bravely Saving Du Chang

  They were considering fleeing east, but both Xun Yu and Xun You suggested fleeing south to Xuzhou - Xun You knew that before Cao Cao's arrival, Xuzhou was still relatively peaceful, and although Tao Qian was not as good a person as described in the novel, he was barely competent in governing the place. Escaping to Xuzhou to seek refuge with Zheng Xuan or Sun Qian was the best option at present.

  So in the end, they decided that Shi Zhe and Shi Xun would escort the money, grain, goods and valuables south, first rushing to Anqiu, resting for a while to gather information, and then deciding whether to continue south to the county of Goumu in Langya. Meanwhile, Shi Yu and Shi Jun would take half of the able-bodied men from their household to Ju County to protect Shi Yi.

  Four brothers bid farewell with tears in their eyes——of course, the other three were truly heartbroken, while Han's tears were forced out. The next day, they set out early and left the south gate of Yingling with more than a dozen carts, staying overnight in a small village on the north bank of the Wen River, crossing the river the following day, and arriving in Anqiu in the afternoon.

  After staying overnight, on the next morning, a horseman suddenly came galloping, and after finding him, the knight dismounted. He recognized him as one of his family's slaves, and hastily asked: "Are you from my father? What is the situation in the capital?"

  The slave wiped the hot sweat from his forehead, panted for a long time, and finally regained his energy to report: "I followed the fourth young master and eighth young master to the capital, just as the Yellow Turbans were approaching. The prime minister and our lord led the troops out of the city to fight, but lost three battles in half a day. Seeing that things were not going well, the fourth young master sent me to report to the eldest young master, telling you to hurry up and leave for Goumang, and it's best not to stop even at Goumang, at least until you reach Zhu County before resting. He also said that our lord has two young masters protecting him, and more than 20 strong men by his side, so there is no danger, please don't worry, eldest young master."

  Where can he put his heart at ease? He's read books to the point of foolishness, but he understands that relying on those twenty or so people, in the tens of millions of Yellow Turbans, they're not even comparable to a small ant, and if trampled, would be killed. However, there's no other way, the whole family can't all die here... Although there's still Eldest Brother who is studying abroad, the family won't become extinct, but without the support of family wealth, it's uncertain whether he can survive on his own, let alone continue the family line.

  Since the brothers have already divided their work, one half protecting the family property and the other half protecting Father... or rather, going with Father to die together in order to fulfill filial piety, then it's only good to force oneself to be spirited, ordering the servants to quickly pack up their luggage, so as to continue fleeing.

  But Xun had decided not to follow him anymore. For the past two days, he had been thinking back and forth, feeling that his momentary panic was a huge mistake. He was still an unknown minor figure, and his poetry name wasn't loud enough - except for Kong Rong, probably no one else knew about it. After all, in this era, even if poets wanted to connect with each other, there were no phones or internet available. Moreover, Kong Rong had been too busy lately to bother with connections. The only thing Xun could rely on was his family, or more accurately, his wife, Shi.

  He is a small official, the fifth officer of the Beihai State government, hired by Guo Xiang. As long as he follows Shi Yi, or to take a step back, follows Kong Rong, he will have the opportunity to continue climbing up. If Shi Yi and Kong Rong both fall, only this bookworm is left... He can easily swindle all the family property from this bookworm's hands, but in this era, having money isn't enough to get by smoothly, having money without power is still a "dead" end.

  Although according to historical records, Kong Rong and Cao Zhi did not die in this campaign against the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou, but since I have traveled through time to this era, who knows if some butterfly effect will occur and they will end up dead after all? Speaking of which, absolutely do not harbor any illusions or hopes about this thieving Heaven!

  So Xun hesitated for a long time between "living in shame and not knowing how much longer he could survive" and "making one last effort to see if he could break through the difficulties". At this moment, he heard news from Ju County and finally made up his mind. He bid farewell to Zuo Ci, saying: "Donglai Taishi Ci is a mighty warrior of today, I have a close friendship with him, I want to go ask for his help to rescue my uncle and brothers."

  He was just a careless person, using the excuse of the danger of the journey to stop him for a moment. Seeing that he couldn't be stopped, he had no choice but to let him go. Shi Xun mounted his horse, accompanied by two strong servants, and parted ways with Shi Zhe. As they were leaving, Yue'er came to see them off with tears in her eyes, saying: "Master, please be careful! I will pray for you every day..." Shi Xun smiled slightly at her, thinking that if he could really survive to see her grow up, he would take her as his concubine. Then he whipped the horse and left in a cloud of dust.

  Last time, Jun gave Xun a ride, which was taken by the Yellow Turbans outside Yingling City. Later, he ran between Ju County and Yingling (he took a day off every five days, no matter how busy, and never asked for leave), and asked Yi to allocate another horse to him, and also found an ironworker in Ju County to make a pair of iron stirrups.

  He was not used to sitting in a carriage, and it was unbearable. Firstly, he had not fully gotten used to kneeling while sitting, who would have thought that at that time, one had to kneel while sitting in a carriage, unless they were alone with no one watching, otherwise they were not allowed to open their legs; secondly, the carriages at that time did not have springs or shock absorbers, and the road conditions were really bad, kneeling inside the carriage was often more bumpy than riding on horseback. I relied on kneeling all the way, my calf bones almost broke!

  So he continued to ride horses, and after a period of practice, his riding skills made a leap forward, finally upgrading from F to E! After leaving Anqiu, the master and servant rushed towards Donglai County on horseback. Although it couldn't be called a true gallop, they were running much faster than when they had planned to escape from Guan Ni's hands.

  From Gumu to Donglai County, Huangxian is over 500 miles away. If they galloped non-stop at top speed, they could arrive in just one day. However, the horses they rode were not of good quality, and even if the horses didn't need a rest, the riders' legs and buttocks couldn't withstand running for more than half an hour. If they had stirrups like Xun's, they could ride without dismounting, galloping for a while and then walking for a while. But those two servants didn't have stirrups, so when they rested, they had to get off their horses.

  They spent a whole day and a half, plus one night, sleeping only two watches in the wilderness at night, before finally arriving at Taishi Ci's house outside Huang County Castle on the next morning. Taishi Ci was overjoyed to hear that Xun had arrived, and he rushed out to greet him, grasping his hand and saying: "Hongfu, it's been a long time! I've missed you so much, my dear brother!" In the more than half year since then, Xun had written only one letter to Taishi Ci, briefly describing what had happened after they parted ways - after all, at that time there were no post offices and no email, sending letters was a very troublesome thing.

  Xia Yu had just dismounted his horse, and his legs were still trembling. He immediately told Taishi Ci: "Gongdu is in danger! You hurry to rescue him!" Taishi Ci was greatly shocked and hastily asked for the reason. Xia Yu briefly explained the cause and effect, and added: "The soldiers of our country are accustomed to seeing me, they are not the enemy of the Yellow Turbans, and there is no great general. Although the outcome is still undecided, I think Gongdu will definitely be defeated!"

  Tai Shi Zi heard the words, went into the house to bid farewell to his old mother, and was about to set out for rescue. Shi Yun pulled at his sleeve: "It's not necessary to rush at this moment... Can you first give me a bowl of water to drink?"

  Xiahou and two servants rested for a while, ate something, Taishi Ci also tied up neatly, brought his usual bow and arrow and spear, the four of them left Huang County and rushed to Ju County.

  Just as they set out, Tai Shi Ci discovered that Xun's stirrup was broken and asked him what it was. Xun had been explaining this thing for some time now and was tired of it, so he mechanically replied: "Originated from Goguryeo, used to support the legs when mounting or dismounting a horse."

  Taishi Ci stared at Ma Chao's stirrups for a while, then asked him to "stand up and let me take a look". As soon as Xun You spoke, Taishi Ci saw it and suddenly patted his thigh: "This thing is great, it can help with horseback riding and shooting, and it's also beneficial for fighting on horseback - another day I'll make a pair too!"

  Xun Xin said that you have a keen eye, able to see through the function of Ma Diao at once. In half a year, you are the first one, indeed worthy of being the future general of Jiangdong!

  Tai Shi Zi finished speaking and began to speed up. The horse he rode, although not a fine steed, was much better than the other three, often having to hold back its speed so that Tai Shi Zi and the others could barely keep up. But what was even more deadly was yet to come. After galloping for almost an hour, Tai Shi Zi gradually slowed down his pace. Even with the help of stirrups, the two servants couldn't take it anymore and begged for mercy, asking to dismount and rest for a while.

  Taishi Ci said, "Rescuing someone in distress is like rescuing a fire, how can one rest?" In the end, he and Shi Xiong had to leave first, letting two slaves follow slowly behind. They finally arrived at the foot of Xiapi City at dusk that day.

  Only the city gate was closed, and the soldiers on the city wall were pale as if they were facing a great enemy. Taishi Ci looked up and shouted loudly: "I am Taishi Ci from Donglai, I came to rescue Kong Fu Jun in Jixian County, quickly open the door and let me enter the city for a short rest." His name was really loud, not only in Donglai County, but also in Beihai State, many people knew him. After a while, a small military officer responded from the top of the city wall: "The county magistrate has ordered that the Yellow Turban bandits are nearby, and no one is allowed to enter the city——the two of you should go around the city! Just received news, the capital has been broken, Fu Jun protected the king and retreated to Douchang, you can go to Douchang!"

  Xun Wen heard the words and was both shocked and delighted. Shocked that, as expected, Kong Rong had indeed suffered a defeat; delighted that since he said "the king's protector is guarding the capital of Douchang", it can be seen that Kong Rong has not yet been hanged, and hopes that Yisheng will also not be hanged for the time being. He was just about to report Yisheng's name to help call out the gate when he was stopped by Taishi Ci with a wave of his hand.

  Taishi Ci discussed with him, saying: "Douchang is only thirty miles away from here, and we can arrive in half a time. I think the Yellow Turban bandits are scattered and disorganized, and if we take advantage of the night to go, we may be able to break through their siege and reach the city. Hong Fu is temporarily resting at the foot of the city, and I alone can go to rescue Kong Beihai."

  Xu Shu refused to give up, insisting on going with Taishi Ci. Taishi Ci said it was too dangerous, Xu Shu thought to himself: "Following you, Taishi Zi, what's the danger? I'm not just a ordinary soldier, I'm your friend. If there really is danger, can't you save me? You're leaving me here, and the city gate won't even open, that's when things will get really dangerous!"

  Tai Shi Zi saw that he was not convinced, and finally had to say loudly: "Well, then let's go to the national disaster together! A great man dies, what is there to fear?!" Is Xun heard it and trembled with fear, thinking to himself: I'm following you because I don't want to die, you shouldn't be so pessimistic...

  Two men took advantage of the moonlight to advance, and by around 10 pm they finally arrived outside Douchang City. They saw that the city was brightly lit, but outside it was sparse, with a torch here and there, and it was unclear who was surrounding whom. Taishi Ci rode his horse up to a high mound, gazed out into the distance, and couldn't help but exclaim: "The enemy has not yet been able to encircle us, now is the perfect time to enter the city." Guan Yu said to Huang Zhong: "Huang Zhong doesn't need to take action, just follow me closely."

  Xian nodded repeatedly in his heart and thought that he would follow General Meng tightly like a turtle, wherever he went.

  Only to see Tai Shi Cai shaking the reins, urging his horse to trot faster. When they arrived at the outer perimeter of the Yellow Turban bandits' camp, he suddenly shouted loudly and accelerated - Zuo Si also hastily whipped his horse to keep up. The two had just entered within a hundred paces when they heard a drumbeat from the enemy camp, followed by deafening shouts and cries for slaughter that shook heaven and earth, surging towards them...

  I am grateful

  Although I started writing many years ago, when it comes to posting on the website, I was still a complete newbie (originally those few posts were all posted by friends who helped me), so I didn't understand things like recommendations and rankings. I also didn't know which rankings were useful or which ones had nothing to do with me, I just clicked on each ranking link on the homepage to search for my own name, and finally found it in the "New Author Signed New Book Ranking". Originally, I was hovering between 80th and 110th place, but that "Main Station Six-Frequency Advertisement" really worked, and suddenly I jumped into the top 50. Thank you very much to editor Da Lun, and thank you to readers who like this book, please continue to support me, give me more collections, recommendations, reviews, etc. I guarantee two updates a day, absolutely uninterrupted!