Chapter 163

Chapter 163

Quan County was just an ordinary small town connecting Taiyuan and Shizhou. Its only advantage was Niangzi Pass, and because of its strategic location, the imperial court would never allow Quan County to fall. Therefore, even though Han Zongping's army had already reached the gates of Taiyuan, and Lu Gong's army of seventy thousand was drawing nearer, the commander of Quan County remained relaxed, confident that reinforcements would arrive from Shizhou as the court would surely ensure their support.

He had already planned to lead thirty thousand soldiers to defend the city, leaving the heavy task of repelling Lu Gong's army to the reinforcements from Shizhou.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Lu Gong arrived outside Quan City, instead of rushing to attack, he first sent a gift to the commander, leaving it outside the city gate before leaving.

The commander sent a soldier to retrieve it.

The gift was placed inside a square wooden box. As the soldier brought it before the commander, the strong stench of rotting flesh reached his nose.

The commander's face changed dramatically, already guessing what was inside, though he didn't know whose head it was.

He stepped back three paces and shouted, "Open it."

The soldier, who had nearly vomited from the smell earlier, held his breath and, with great trepidation, opened the box.

Inside was a severed head, its blood-stained hair disheveled, revealing a pale face and a pair of eyes that had clearly belonged to a man who died in defiance.

The commander stumbled back several steps, exclaiming in shock, "General Cheng!"

Lu Gong, still positioned outside the city, shouted towards the walls, "Five days ago, Dou Dechang led a seventy-thousand-strong reinforcement from Shizhou, but they didn't even make it to Niangzi Pass before falling into our ambush. Half of his army was killed, the other half surrendered. After that, we broke through both Niangzi Pass and Shizhou. Quan City is now an isolated fortress. If you know what's good for you, surrender the city immediately, or I'll prepare another box to collect your head for merit!"

The commander dared not surrender. His entire clan was in the capital; if he surrendered, his entire family of over a hundred people would be executed!

The commander immediately threw Cheng Lun's head over the wall and shouted, "Don't think you can shake our morale with just any severed head, enemy general! Niangzi Pass is an impregnable fortress, and Shizhou still holds an army of one hundred thousand! A mere ambush is not enough to break through!"

Lu Gong shouted back, "Of course, an ambush alone isn't enough. Soldiers inside the city, do you know why the thirty thousand surrendered troops of Dou Dechang are willing to join General Han's forces?"

No one responded.

Lu Gong signaled his army to shout in unison, "The commanders of hundreds and thousands appointed by corrupt ministers—anyone among the surrendered troops who has the ability can kill them and take their place!"

The commander shouted, "Don't listen to their nonsense! Fire arrows!"

The archers immediately unleashed a volley down upon them.

The commanders standing nearby glanced at the box that had held Cheng Lun's head, then at the commander who, despite his tough words, was sweating profusely from his forehead. They looked at each other.

Without reinforcements, Quan City was doomed to fall. Would they wait for mutinous soldiers to cut off their heads for rewards and high positions, or would they strike first and kill the commander to save their own lives?

"Sss!" A sound of a blade cutting through the air. Someone made the first move, stabbing the commander in the back.

Seeing this, the others joined in, killing the commander's two closest confidants.

"Open the city gates! Welcome General Lu into the city!"

---

The victory at Quan City was expected. Han Zongping ordered Lu Gong to rest and reorganize the surrendered troops for three days, leaving five thousand soldiers to guard Quan County and three thousand to defend Niangzi Pass. He then took Zhao Jin's cavalry to join Xiao Zhen in Shizhou, leading an army of over one hundred thousand along the Ji Province plains southward, forming the eastern front.

In Taiyuan, Han Zongping handed over the three thousand surrendered soldiers from Shizhou, now part of the central army led by Qi Heng, to Xiao Mu, putting Xiao Mu in command of one hundred thousand troops to besiege Taiyuan. Han then personally led sixty thousand soldiers to continue attacking the southern counties of Taiyuan, following the western front southward as planned.

On the ninth day of the sixth month, Han Zongping left a military order for Xiao Mu and Qi Heng and set off.

Taiyuan had lost its southern territories, its supply routes were cut off, and reinforcements were blocked, leaving it completely isolated.

The city was defended by the renowned general Meng Jingye, also the father-in-law of Imperial Uncle Dou. At sixty years old, Meng still commanded the respect of his soldiers, who remained loyal and disciplined—far from the likes of the garrison at Quan City.

A few years ago, when two self-proclaimed emperors rose in the south, the grassland tribes beyond the borders attempted to invade. Despite the capabilities of border generals like Han Zongping and Zhao Liangchen, they could only hold the frontier. The two self-proclaimed emperors couldn't push further north to erode the imperial court's territory, thanks to the defense by Meng Jingye and Imperial Uncle Dou—father-in-law and son-in-law.

This time, Imperial Uncle Dou had Meng Jingye defend Taiyuan, a clear sign of how wary he was of Han Zongping.

Now that Han Zongping had bypassed Taiyuan, Meng Jingye's subordinates were thrown into disarray. If the imperial court fell, what good would holding Taiyuan be?

But Meng Jingye remained calm. "Don't worry. The capital still has two hundred thousand troops, and Chang'an has another one hundred thousand available for reinforcement. Moreover, whether they head south from Shizhou or Taiyuan, there are still layers of fortified garrisons to pass through. It would take at least three months to reach the river. Especially south of Jinzhou, the treacherous mountains and dangerous waters mean that even Han Zongping, with only sixty thousand troops, wouldn't be able to sweep through unopposed."

"If I were Han Zongping, I'd pretend to leave. If we rushed out in haste, he could turn back and strike, joining forces with one hundred thousand troops to sandwich us from both sides, eliminating the rear worries of Taiyuan and increasing his strength."

"Yes, that's more like Han Zongping's style."

Meng Jingye said, "We have enough food supplies for my one hundred thousand troops for three months. First, send out scouts to gather intelligence and wait for the right opportunity."

Xiao Mu's one hundred thousand troops were all stationed south of Taiyuan City, blocking any attempts by Meng Jingye to pursue Han Zongping. Meng Jingye's scouts, by taking detours, could still track the movements of Han Zongping's army.

Thus, Meng Jingye learned that Han Zongping's sixty thousand troops had indeed left Taiyuan and were heading south, rapidly breaking through eight counties, including Jinzhong and Xu County, reaching Yao County two hundred li away within just half a month.

Even someone as cautious as Meng Jingye now believed that Han Zongping wouldn't turn back.

But he still wasn't in a hurry. He arranged for scouts to continue following Han Zongping and sent another group to investigate the situation of Xiao Mu's army stationed twenty li south of the city.

Xiao Mu divided his one hundred thousand troops into the eastern, central, and western camps. The soldiers from each camp took turns training every other day, maintaining both combat readiness and morale without exhausting the entire army, leaving them vulnerable to a surprise attack.

However, as the garrison time dragged on, while the younger soldiers enjoyed the comfort of not having to march or fight, the eager officers grew increasingly restless. Just in the Xiao family alone, Xiao Yan, Xiao She, and Sun Dian had complained numerous times—with the favorable southern situation, the more cities they captured, the more military merits they earned. So why were the left and central armies getting all the glory while they were stuck guarding an old, tough bone they couldn't even crack open?

They couldn't follow Han Zongping south, but couldn't they attack Taiyuan? Breaking a city was a great achievement. After that, they could catch up with the main army and continue breaking cities, accumulating more military merits.

Like a pack of wolf cubs, they constantly pestered Xiao Mu to lead the troops to attack the city.

Every time they made a fuss, the old man suppressed them.

Xiao Ye, the Qiao brothers, and Qi Yun were more composed, but after hearing the others' complaints and grievances so often, even they couldn't help feeling some frustration. Occasionally, they'd test the old man to see what his intentions were.

Xiao Mu simply shut himself in the central command tent and stopped showing his face, leaving Tong Sui to keep an eye on the various camps.

Tong Sui reported, "Only Wen Gong and Pan Shu are steady. They do whatever you ask and keep their soldiers in check."

Xiao Mu shook his head and asked his nineteen-year-old granddaughter-in-law, "Isn't Aman worried? It's been a month since she last saw the Second Young Master."

Tong Sui’s cheeks flushed slightly. "I joined the army not to see Second Young Master. Just look at now; we have besieged Tai Yuan, preventing the ten thousand troops inside from pursuing the Grand General. Containing ten thousand enemy soldiers is no small feat. Besides, I believe you and the Grand General understand tactics better than us young ones. We just listen and observe."

Xiao Mu sighed. "It’s always you and the Second Young Master who give me the most peace of mind."

As they were talking, a commotion suddenly erupted outside. A soldier rushed in to report, "General, General Qi has arrived!"

Xiao Mu could refuse his own son entry, but he couldn’t do the same to Qi Heng. He took Tong Sui out with him.

Qi Heng stood outside the tent, flanked by several of his commanders, facing Xiao Shouyi and other commanders from the right flank.

Seeing the old man, Qi Heng snorted heavily and looked up at the sky. "The Grand General ordered us to besiege Tai Yuan and wait for the right moment to attack. It’s been half a month, why have you remained idle all this time?"

Xiao Mu replied calmly, "Naturally because the time has not yet come."

Qi Heng: "What more time do you need? We send people to taunt the city every day. The soldiers and civilians inside know they are isolated, their supplies will run out eventually, and morale is already scattered. If we launch a full-scale attack, we can take the city in a day!"

Xiao Mu: "Meng Jingye is a renowned general. As long as he is inside, morale won’t scatter, especially after just fifteen days."

Qi Heng: "Ha, so you’re afraid of Meng. If all generals thought like you, the court would never dare to act lightly just because they appointed a famous general. What kind of war are we fighting then? Fine, you be afraid, I’m not. I’ll lead the troops to attack the city!"

Xiao Mu, enraged, said, "I am the Right General, and you are just my deputy. No one can mobilize the troops without my order!"

Qi Heng spat, "When I was king, you were still hiding in Wei County training your troops. I only call you Right General out of respect for the Grand General. Don’t get too full of yourself. I want to see who dares to stop me!"

Although Xiao Yan also wanted to capture the city and earn merit, he couldn’t tolerate Qi Heng insulting his grandfather. He immediately led Xiao Ye and others to surround Qi Heng and his men, both sides drawing their swords, tensions high.

Qi Yun hurriedly mediated, "Don’t be impulsive. Father, military orders are like mountains; you must obey the Right General."

Qi Heng spat at him, "Don’t call me father, you’re not my son anymore!"

Qi Ling followed, "Look at these people, ready to draw their swords against their father, and you’re still trying to mediate. The Xiao family’s boys have more spirit than you!"

Xiao She: "Who are you calling boys!"

He charged forward first.

Both sides started fighting until Xiao Mu brandished the military token and roared, finally stopping them. They dispersed unhappily.

After returning to camp, Qi Heng immediately led his three thousand troops and moved to a position ten miles away from Tai Yuan.

A sentry noticed this movement, hid in the shadows to eavesdrop on the soldiers’ private conversations, learned that Qi Heng had fallen out with Xiao Mu, and quickly reported back to Meng Jingye.

The Xie and Qi families had clashed before in Shuozhou, and their animosity was well-known. Meng Jingye pondered for a moment and said, "Prepare for the defense of the city. Qi Heng might attack."

Early the next morning, Qi Heng indeed led his three thousand troops to attack the city but was forced back by a rain of arrows from the defenders, unable to even set up ladders. Nearly a thousand men died in vain, and Xiao Mu’s men sounded the retreat in time to prevent further casualties.

Back in camp, Xiao Mu wanted to punish Qi Heng according to military law, but Qi Heng, naturally unwilling, fled with his troops, saying that since they were all defending the city anyway, he would go to Qu City to the north of Tai Yuan and leave it to Han Zongping to deal with him later, refusing to be constrained by Xiao Mu.

Tai Yuan’s sentries followed Qi Heng’s army and confirmed that he had indeed entered Qu City fifty miles away before returning with the news.

An excited deputy general said, "General, there are only seven thousand militia left in the south. We can break out now!"

Meng Jingye: "Although Xiao Mu comes from humble origins, he is extremely skilled in military strategy. Let’s wait and see, careful not to fall into their trap."

Meng Jingye was truly patient. After another half a month of observation, by the tenth of July, he confirmed that Qi Heng showed no signs of reconciling with Xiao Mu, and the morale of the Xiao family’s troops was being worn down by the scorching heat and the monotonous siege. Even the two grandsons of the Xiao family had been punished with forty lashes each for causing trouble. Meng Jingye smiled faintly.

"Ultimately, they are just country ruffians, incapable of achieving great things."