Jiangling Campaign (1)

  The night shrouded the earth, and the faint moonlight illuminated this land within. From a distance, Jiangling City seemed like a giant beast crouching on the ground, quietly asleep.

  At the command of Ma Da, Sun's mouth corner rose with a sinister smile, his big hand suddenly beckoned, and immediately behind him dozens of riders galloped out, rushing straight to the gate of Jiangling City.

  In a swift and smooth motion, dozens of riders had already reached the outside of the city gate by the moat, but this sudden burst of speed was slightly detected by the patrolling soldiers on the walls of Jiangling City.

  Jiangling, on the city wall tower.

  A group of soldiers were patrolling back and forth under the leadership of a sergeant, when one of them suddenly stopped in his tracks, looking strange, staring straight ahead as if he saw something. This sudden stop caused all the other soldiers to halt, looking at him in confusion. The sergeant felt something was off, turned around and scolded: "Tie Dan, what's wrong with you? Spaced out again, thinking of your wife?"

  Tie Dan didn't respond to what Shichang said, his eyes fixed on the outside of the city, and a faint rumbling sound came from afar. Tie Dan spoke in a hurry: "Shichang, Shichang... come quickly, come see."

  "Here, what's the hurry?" What Long muttered to himself, following Tie Dan's pointing finger, and saw that the dozens of riders suddenly stopped in their tracks. One of them rode forward, his armor also stained with blood, and panted like an ox, saying: "Quickly open the city gate, General Liu Hu has been injured."

  "General Liu Hu?" What's heart suddenly tightened, his eyes scanned the dozens of riders, and suddenly, he saw a person slumped on the horseback, with closed eyes, pale face as white as paper, without any hint of blood color, and his body was like being soaked in a bloody sea, like a bloody man. Looking at this scene, it's unknown whether he is dead or alive.

  Shi Chang was startled and his heart skipped a beat, thinking that General Liu Hu had led dozens of riders out of the city to go hunting and clear his mind.

  But what's going on today? Why did General Liu Hu receive such a serious injury? These questions all floated in the mind of Wang Xiaosan, who was just a small squad leader. Wang Xiaosan didn't have any great ambitions, he just wanted to serve his time, get married and collect his military pay, then retire and go back home to farm... He had never seen such a big scene before, and now he was suddenly stunned, staring wide-eyed and unsure of what to do.

  In a moment of distraction, the man outside the city suddenly burst into loud curses: "Damn it! Why haven't you lowered the drawbridge and opened the city gate to let us in? If General Liu Hu is hurt, can your grandma be responsible?"

  "Don't delay General Liu Hu's treatment..."

  "Ah, oh!" Wang Xiaosan was intimidated by this threat, and beads of sweat the size of beans appeared on his forehead, flowing down his cheeks. He hastily nodded repeatedly and said to Tie Dan: "Tie Dan, quickly go open the city gate and let General Liu Hu come in."

  "What? What's going on, are you letting them in?" Tie Dan said in surprise: "What's going on, General Han has said it before, the city gate is not to be opened at night!"

  "Cut the crap!" Wang Xiaosan suddenly burst into rage and shouted: "General Han only said that it's not advisable to open the city gate at night, don't give the enemy an opportunity... but are there enemies outside the city gate?"

  "It's General Liu Hu outside the city gate, General Liu Hu..." Wang Xiaosan saw that his trusted aide Tie Dan had disobeyed him and couldn't help but feel a surge of anger. He thought to himself, if he could gain General Liu Hu's favor now, after General Liu Hu recovered from his injuries, he would remember his kindness and reward him with a few promotions, wouldn't that allow him to rise even higher in rank?

  At this thought, Wang Xiaosan's eyes were suddenly covered by a crazy red mist, and his brain was like a surge of hot air rushing up, completely losing the ability to judge.

  "Hmm..."

  "It's so dark and chaotic, can't even see the other person's face clearly, it's as if they're disguised as enemy soldiers?"

  The speaker has no intention, but the listener has his own ideas!

  This sentence, however, made Wang Xiaosan and Tie Dan's hearts skip a beat. Tie Dan's eyes widened, and he turned to face Wang Xiaosan, saying in a low voice: "Shizhang, if these people are really enemy soldiers in disguise, then their plot must be quite large. If something happens, we won't be able to get away with it."

  Wang Xiaosan, though timid as a mouse, was not stupid. After hearing Tie Dan's words, his hot head was suddenly cooled down by a splash of cold water, and he thought to himself: "If it were really the enemy army in disguise, wouldn't General Han deal with me according to military law afterwards?"

  If it's really Liu Hu, if he himself delayed for too long and missed the best time for treatment, the consequences wouldn't be something a small official like him could bear. Wang Xiaosan was in a dilemma for a moment, unable to get off the tiger's back.

  At this time, the man under the city shouted fiercely: "Open the city gate quickly, otherwise I will cut off your dog's head."

  Wang Xiaosan's expression became even more bitter after hearing this, and he wanted to say something but was stopped by Tie Dan. Wang Xiaosan looked at Tie Dan in confusion, only to see him walk to the city wall and look down, asking in a low voice: "May I ask, General, what is your surname and name?"

  That man was taken aback for a moment, seemingly not expecting Tie Dan to ask such a question. However, it only took him a moment to regain his composure. He let out a cold laugh and said, "Listen well, my name is Wang Wu... I am one of General Liu Hu's personal soldiers. We were ambushed by bandits... and fought our way out at the cost of our lives. Unfortunately, General Liu was severely injured..."

  When Wang Xiaosan heard the name of Wang Wu, his eyes lit up and he nodded excitedly: "It can't be wrong, I know that General Liu Hu has a personal guard named Wang Wu."

  Tie Dan still frowned, feeling that something was not quite right. Suddenly, a clever idea flashed through his mind and he said to the outside, "So it's Lord Wang Wu. Lord Wang Wu, General Han has ordered that the city gate cannot be opened at night, we have no way... Alright, I'll go call General Han now, just one moment."

  "Let your mother fart, wait for General Han to come. General Liu Hu has been dead for a long time." Wang Wu paused and whispered a few words to the knight beside him, then Wang Wu seemed to be holding something in his hand, only to hear Wang Wu shouting: "Here is General Liu Hu's military token!"

  Tie Dan and Wang Xiao San were both patrol soldiers, they also knew a thing or two about the military token. However, under the cover of night, they couldn't see anything clearly. Tie Dan plucked up his courage and asked: "Wang Wu, can you put the military token in the basket so I can take a look?"

  " You... " Wang Wu seemed to be furious, pointing at Tie Dan and saying: "You must not make progress by inches, how can the military symbol be given to people casually..."

  Wang Xiaosan was also startled by Tie Dan's bold behavior, but Tie Dan remained calm and composed, saying: "Forgive me for my offense, General Han has given orders beforehand, if..."

  "Alright, I'll give you the military token to take a look..."

  Iron egg ordered someone to put down the basket and pull it up for a look.

  Half a moment later, Wang Wu's voice sounded again: "How about it, is the military order real? I won't cheat you, hurry up, General Liu Hu is in a hurry, if something happens to the general, I'll kill you all."

  There was a hint of frustration and suppressed anger in his tone.

  Wang Xiaosan could no longer hold back his temper, and with a fierce wave of his hand, he scolded Tie Dan repeatedly, saying: "Go quickly and open the city gate! No, I'll go, I'll go!"

  As he spoke, he pulled his leg and rushed towards the city gate. Tie Dan looked at the military symbol in his hand with a frown, lost in thought. He always felt that something was not quite right, but the military symbol in his hand was indeed real, which made Tie Dan rather worried.

  Shaking his head, Tie Dan summoned one person and handed the military token in his hand to that person, saying in a low voice: "Take the token quickly to find General Han and say that General Liu Hu has been seriously injured outside the city. Please ask General Han to lead the army here as soon as possible..."

  That man promised and quickly left, Iron Egg finally slightly put down his heart.

  At the city gate, Wang Xiaosan led several people to open the city gate, lower the drawbridge, and quickly walk out of the moat. With a sly smile, he said: "Lord Wang Wu, just now it was all that Iron Egg acting on his own, having nothing to do with me."

  "Oh?" Wang Wu saw the city gate open, the drawbridge fall to the ground, and his eyes suddenly lit up. He waved his hand, and the dozens of riders behind him instantly occupied the drawbridge and the city gate, but there was no sign of entering the city.

  Wang Xiaosan was very puzzled and scratched his head in confusion, asking: "Sir, what's this?"

  "Heh heh, nothing much, I just want to borrow this city of Jiangling for a use..." Wang Wu's face twisted, with a hint of cold-blooded killing intent at the corner of his mouth.

  Wang Xiaosan suddenly came to his senses, staring wide-eyed, and swiftly retreated with a swift kick. However, Wang Wu's knife was faster, and with a swoosh, Wang Xiaosan's head flew into the air, splitting open from the neck, spattering blood everywhere. Wang Wu was splashed with the warm blood on his face, but he remained unmoved, his crimson eyes gleaming with madness as he gazed at the open city gate of Jiangling. He licked the blood off his tongue and suddenly let out a loud, fierce roar: "Brothers, kill everyone on the city wall!"

  Tie Dan on the city wall clearly saw Wang Wu slashing towards Wang Xiao San's entire process, Tie Dan knew that this group of people must be disguised as thieves, and Wang Wu was also fake. Without hesitation, Tie Dan took advantage of the small number of bandits and led the soldiers on the city wall to rush quickly to the main camp in the city.

  On the city wall where the reeds grew, Ma Da and Sun Da stood quietly facing the wind, waiting. After a moment, five torches flashed on the city wall of Jiangling after the joint attack. Sun Da's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed with joy: "The city gate has been taken?"

  Ma's eyes flashed with a hint of light, and he said faintly: "General Sun, if we don't take Jiangling now, when will we?"

  "Hmm..." Sun Da was now fully immersed in the thrill of battle, unaware of Ma Da's sinister grin. He bellowed to his troops: "You rabbits, follow me and let's kill them!"

  Sun Da grasped his dual hammers and charged forward with a loud whoosh, followed closely by Sun Da's bandit army, rushing towards the gates of Jiangling City like a swarm of ants.

  Jiangling City, the Governor's Mansion.

  Fu Xun and Han Xi were kneeling and playing chess with a rather leisurely expression.

  Suddenly, a flurry of hurried footsteps came, Fu Xun and Han Xi furrowed their brows, and Fu Xun rebuked: "Why be so flustered, what kind of demeanor is this?"

  "Sir, General, a soldier outside is holding General Liu Hu's token and has come to report."

  "What did you say?"

  Fu Xun and Han Xi were both shocked, Han Xi suddenly jumped up quickly, his incredulous eyes staring at the person.

  Before the other person could respond, Han Ji said: "Quickly invite that person in."

  Before long, the soldier rushed in quickly, holding the token given by Tie Dan. The soldier saw Han Hui and was overjoyed, kneeling down on one knee: "General, I am Wang Xiaosan, the leader of the patrol soldiers. Just now, outside the city gate, there was a man who claimed to be Liu Hu's personal soldier, Wang Wu... He said that General Liu Hu was seriously injured by bandits while hunting and urged us to open the city gate... And here is the token!"

  "Open the city gate?" Han Ji heard the reason for the matter, his heart suddenly shook violently, and he rushed outwards with a stern expression, his voice like thunder shouting to the left and right guards: "Go, order the main camp inside the city to assemble at the fastest speed, follow this general to the city head to meet the enemy."

  "Zi Wang, what's this?"

  Han Xi's expression was unpleasant, gritting his teeth and saying: "Liu Hu Gongzi must have been calculated by the thief. Where did the thieves come from around Jiangling City? That person repeatedly urged Wang Xiaosan to open the city gate, just wanting to deceive the city gate and occupy Jiangling at once."

  As he spoke, Han Jie's gaze fell on the soldier, and he said in a low voice: "When you came, was the city gate open?"

  Nà shì zú said: "When I came, Shí zhǎng had already gone to open the city gate. Wǔ zhǎng felt something was wrong and ordered Fēi sù to report to the general quickly!"

  Han Qian's gloomy face nodded, and he said to Fu Xun: "Gong Ti, I must go and prepare the army to retake the city gate first, otherwise Jiangling is in danger..."

  "Good!"

  Han Ji hastily led several close guards and rushed out of the hall.