Invincible Iron Army 22, Digging Busy Book Flag
Wang An said to Jiang Cai: "We don't have much time left, we need to hurry up and prepare", Jiang Cai nodded continuously, he thought to himself: "Since I got to know Wang An, he has always been meticulous in his plans, never making a mistake, this time won't be an exception either".
Liu Jiao returned to Yu Yang City and sent scouts to gather intelligence on the Xiongnu, but today a large group of merchants came to complain. One of them said to Liu Jiao: "General, Wang An led 500 people to dig pits on the roads everywhere." A peasant also told Liu Jiao: "General, Wang An's pits are extremely hidden and cannot be guarded against. The other day, one of my cows fell in and was killed by the bamboo stakes underground." Another person continued to tell the general: "General, Wang An has now blocked that road and does not allow people to pass through, saying it is for military use." Liu Jiao said: "I will definitely deal with Wang An, you can all go back now."
Liu Jiao said: "Come on, prepare a fast horse for me, I want to go and ask Wang An questions". At this time, a guard reported back to him: "General, you don't need to prepare the horse, Wang An has already arrived outside Yucheng City, digging holes everywhere, and also wants to dig holes inside the city, but was stopped by the guards." Liu Jiao angrily said: "What is Wang An doing, causing destruction everywhere".
Wang An was in the middle of construction when a guard brought an order from the Jiedushi, saying: "The Jiedushi has ordered that you immediately stop the destruction and restore things to their original state." Jiang Cai said to Wang An: "Brother Wang, let's hurry up and stop work. If we don't obey orders, it's a capital offense!" Wang An said: "We're in the middle of an urgent project, we can't just stop because someone says so." Jiang Cai said: "But the Jiedushi has already given the order!" Wang An took the order and tore it to shreds, saying: "We didn't receive any orders." Jiang Cai was stunned. The guard who had brought the order pointed at Wang An and said: "You have a lot of nerve, daring to tear up the Jiedushi's order! You really don't want to live!" Wang An said: "We didn't see anyone bring an order." The guard said: "Are you blind? I'm the one who brought the order!" Wang An asked: "Is there anyone here?" Just as the guard was about to say something, a soldier next to him grabbed the guard and dragged him away on Wang An's orders. The guard shouted: "Wang An, this is against the law! I won't let you get away with it, and neither will the Jiedushi!"
One day, the number of people coming to the Jiedushi Mansion to complain did not decrease, but instead increased. Liu Jiao felt strange and thought: "Could it be that Wang An didn't receive my order? The current messenger is really useless, at such a close distance, he can't even deliver the order." Liu Jiao continued to command: "Deliver my order again, Wang An must stop work immediately and restore the original state." The messenger set off again, but like a wild swan, he left without returning, with no news.
Thirteen days passed in this way, and Liu Jiao sent a messenger to Wang An's army like a scout, but there was no news every day.
On the fourteenth day, a messenger arrived at Wang An's army and ordered them to stop their destruction. Wang An said, "Come on, take him away." The messenger said, "Wang An, you dare to capture my messenger? Are you going to rebel? The governor will not let you off, he will definitely cut you into pieces." Wang An sneered, "The governor has the ability to control how I came here, and I will clean up his mess." "Is that so?" A soft female voice came from behind, and gently said to Wang An, "Then how do you plan to clean up after her?" Wang An heard this voice and quickly turned around, with a smile on his face, saying to Liu Jiao Jiao, "Governor, why have you come? Why didn't you notify me in advance so I could prepare?" Liu Jiao Jiao said, "So you can prepare to capture me too?" Wang An shook his head, "Absolutely not. I am loyal to the governor, my loyalty is as clear as day." Liu Jiao Jiao said, "But my messenger is just like me coming in person. You treating them this way is equivalent to despising me."
Wang An said, "Commander, you misunderstood. I treated them very well and entertained them warmly. Each of them was reluctant to leave and had a great time." Liu Jiao said, "Stop playing with your words, you're really bold and reckless! If you don't give me a reason today, I'll definitely behead you!" At this moment, the executioner appeared out of nowhere and said to Wang An, "I'm happy to serve you." Wang An immediately turned pale and said, "Forget it." Liu Jiao found it amusing and thought that this executioner was just what Wang An needed.
The executioner handed Wang An a promotional leaflet and continued to introduce, "We executioners have discussed and decided to set up a specialized store for wreaths, mourning clothes, coffins, and graves. You can enjoy our one-stop service from here to the grave, we're all familiar with each other, how about I give you an 80% discount?" Wang An hastily said, "I don't need it for now, why don't you see if Lord Wu needs it?" The executioner said, "No rush, let's provide you with service first, and then ask him to take care of our business. But looking at your xìng格 (temperament), I think you're the most likely to enjoy our one-stop service." Wang An asked Liu Jiao, "Why do you always bring an executioner when you travel?" Liu Jiao replied, "I don't always bring him, only when I come to see you. This time he came on his own initiative, saying he wanted to meet old clients and hope they would take care of their new store's business."
Wang An hastily said, "Commander, these are all for war preparations. You should know that these things will be useful when fighting against the Xiongnu invasion in the future." Liu Jiao sneered and said, "The Xiongnu army won't invade our borders at all. You're just trying to scare people with your words. If you say something like this again, I'll definitely have you beheaded. And as for digging pits on the road and inside and outside the city, it's laughable that you think this can deal with the Xiongnu soldiers. If this method were effective, why didn't our ancestors use it?" Wang An said, "Maybe they just didn't try." Liu Jiao said, "Don't talk anymore. You people always do things in a crooked way. Look at your soldiers, covered in dust like beggars. Can't you do something proper for once, like training the army to fight against the Xiongnu?" Wang An wanted to speak again, but Liu Jiao immediately cut him off and said, "Don't talk anymore. If it weren't for your past merits, I would have killed you this time. As a soldier, obeying orders is the most important thing. Not only did you disobey orders, but you also captured the soldiers who came to deliver the message. It's like you're rebelling. You should be beheaded, but considering your past achievements, I've decided to let you off lightly and strip you of your position as hundred-man commander." Wang An immediately thanked her for her mercy. Liu Jiao turned to Jiang Cai and said, "Brother Jiang, you are mature and steady. I order you to temporarily take over Wang An's position as hundred-man commander. Later, I will send someone to replace you. Immediately lead Du Lu, Li Li, and Zhang Wan to restore the original state of this place." After finishing speaking, Liu Jiao led her guards on horseback and left.
"Are we going to restore this place to its original state?" Jiang Cai asked Wang An, who gritted his teeth and replied, "Don't worry about it, let's continue digging the pit. All our actions are for the sake of winning the war against the Xiongnu. In the future, Liu Jiao will come to realize that we were right." As the highest military officer here, Jiang Cai had a responsibility to bear, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, I'll do as you say. If I die, my face will be facing upwards, forever. Let's go all out!" Wang An was moved to tears and patted Jiang Cai on the shoulder, saying, "Good brother." The two men's hands were clasped tightly together, and their friendship between men didn't need many words.
Wang An still decided to make a last-ditch effort, sending a letter to Liu Jiao, warning her to gather troops and strengthen the defenses near Youyang, while also writing a letter to the general at Juyong Pass, hoping he would strengthen his defenses and prepare for the Xiongnu army's attack. Liu Jiao looked at the letter with disdain, saying: "How can a lowly soldier like him have the qualifications to discuss military matters with me? Speaking out of turn is a serious offense, if I beheaded him now, he wouldn't even have anything to say. But since I'm a superior and won't hold it against an inferior, I'll forgive this ignorant little person." The general at Juyong Pass saw the letter and burst out laughing, saying: "What a joke! I'm the guardian of Juyong Pass, only I know whether the Xiongnu will attack here or not. Wang An is just a lowly soldier, what right does he have to lecture me?"
At this time, the Xiongnu army had completed its assembly and began to advance into Guannei. The Righteous King of the Xiongnu had already learned that the murderer of his son was a person from the Great Jin, because Liu Jiao had announced the destruction of the Xiongnu by Wang An in order to report military merit and boost the morale of the troops. Upon learning this, the Righteous King became enraged and prepared to attack Guannei, but he was stopped by the Left Wise King and the Chanyu of the Xiongnu, who said to him: "We do not have siege engines, and rashly attacking would be unprofitable. It is better for us to go to Guannei and plunder some carpenters, and let them make cloud ladders and battering rams for us." The Righteous King immediately agreed. The Xiongnu troops raided several locations in Hedong, plundered many carpenters, and forced them to build siege engines. After the construction was completed, the Xiongnu army approached Juyongguan.
When the general guarding Youyong woke up from his sleep in the early morning, he was surprised to find that the Xiongnu troops were densely packed under the pass. He regretfully said: "Wang An is right, it's really a godly person! If I had known this earlier, I would have asked for reinforcements from Yuyang. Now there are only 2,000 soldiers here, how can we resist the tens of thousands of Xiongnu troops?" However, before he finished speaking, the Xiongnu army began to attack the city. Half a day later, Youyong Pass was breached by the Xiongnu, and all the defending generals were killed in action. The news sent shockwaves throughout Yuyang, and Liu Jiaojiao was filled with endless regret after her initial surprise.
；
－－－－－－－－－－－－－
－－－－－－－－－－－－－
