At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 226 Breaking Ji Ling
"what!"

Inside the county prison cell, shrill screams rang out, and several workers were beaten until their skin and flesh were torn apart.

The remaining well-trained craftsmen couldn't help but tremble when they heard the screams next door.

With a face as cold as frost and blood stains on his hands, Chen Mu walked to the cell where everyone was detained and said: "Next!"

When the next detective was dragged away and brought into a separate interrogation room, he cried out: "I say, I say, I say anything!"

In this way, Chen Mu reviewed many details separately, and was finally able to confirm that Yuan Shu was indeed preparing to attack Anfeng County.

He felt awe-inspiring and hurriedly sent people to Shuxian County at high speed. On the one hand, he reported the military situation to Du Ji and on the other hand, he apologized for recruiting volunteers without orders.

To be on the safe side, Chen Mu sent three waves of envoys separately.

After the envoy left the city, Chen Mu closed the city gate and continued to investigate in detail. At the same time, he asked the county magistrate to move all the skilled workers from important workshops outside Anfeng County into the city.

In addition, he also had people cut down trees, strengthen the city walls, build defense equipment, and sent scouts north to investigate the situation of Yuan Shu's army.

He originally wanted to remind the officials of Liaoxian County, Yangquan County and Anfeng County, north of Anfeng County and close to Yuzhou, to let them be careful about Yuan Shu's meticulous work.

Unexpectedly, before the scouts arrived, the army led by Yuan Shu had already divided into three groups and headed south to attack the three counties.

Due to the small number of soldiers and horses in the county and the detailed operations, Yuan Shu's army almost conquered three counties in one day.

As frontier cities, these three county towns actually had garrisons, and they were all wiped out.

Despite this, Yuan Shu still did not give up.

He asked his general Ji Ling to lead two thousand cavalry and attack towards Anfeng County.

After the scout got the news, he hurriedly reported back to Chen Mu.

Although Chen Mu was panicking in his heart, he showed no fear on the surface. Instead, he smiled in front of many rebels and said, "A mere two thousand cavalrymen also want to take over Anfeng County?"

"Are they planning to use war horses to break down the city gate?"

"Hahahaha!"

After hearing Chen Mu's words, Qian Yujun, who was still a little nervous, suddenly couldn't help laughing, and even the fear in his heart dissipated a lot.

Chen Mu took the opportunity to boost morale and said: "You may not know that Yuan Shu instigated Lu Bu to sneak attack Lujiang County. After capturing Shu County, he violently expropriated the people of Lujiang County and forcibly recruited young men to form an army."

"Even Governor Lu, who was loved by all the people, was killed by Lu Bu's fellow."

"Yuan Shu and Lu Bu are the same as each other. If we attack Anfeng County, how much better will our fate be than the people of Shu County?"

"Today you come to this county to defend the city, not for me, but for yourselves and the families behind you."

"There is no need for you to panic. We will defend the city. Even if Yuan Shu has an army of [-], it will be difficult to attack the city in a short time."

"This county magistrate has already sent people to ask for help from the county governor. I think it won't take long for reinforcements to arrive!"

Chen Mu's words not only made the rebels present share the same hatred, but also gave everyone hope, letting them know that they were not fighting alone.

"Tap Tap!"

Not long after, Ji Ling personally led two thousand cavalry to kill them.

However, when he saw the closed city gate, he couldn't help but frown slightly, then he slapped his horse and shouted: "According to the imperial court's order, I led the army to defeat the disobedient Zhou Qi."

"The troops have arrived today, why don't you open the city to surrender?"

As soon as Ji Ling finished speaking, two thousand cavalrymen behind him shouted in unison: "Kaicheng accepts surrender!"

Ji Ling's move also reminded the people in the city to tell them that Yuzhou soldiers and horses had arrived, and they should quickly open the city gate in response to the situation.

"Hahahaha!"

Unexpectedly, at this moment, a slightly mocking laughter sounded from the city wall.

Ji Ling raised his right hand, and the two thousand soldiers who were shouting behind him all closed their mouths.

He looked up and saw a heavily armed young man laughing loudly on the city wall.

Ji Ling was angry and shouted: "Who are you and why are you laughing?"

Chen Mu stopped laughing, pointed at Ji Ling and shouted: "A treasonous traitor, how dare you call yourself a heavenly soldier and come here under the imperial edict?"

"If you retreat now, that's fine. If you still dare to continue barking outside the city, be careful!"

Ji Ling was furious and cursed: "How dare you, a cowardless person, speak lies?"

"Ji Ling is here. Do you dare to go out of the city and fight me?"

Chen Mu, however, retorted and said, "Chen Mu is here, does the rat Ji Ling dare to climb the city wall and fight me?"

"Wow!"

Ji Ling was so angry that he shouted at the city wall: "Where is my brother? Why don't we capture this madman quickly!"

"boom!"

As soon as Ji Ling finished speaking, Chen Mu had people throw down all the heads of those craftsmen, and said with a smile: "Ji Ling, are you waiting for these craftsmen to assassinate me?"

Ji Ling quickly recognized the head of leader Xizuo, and was immediately shocked and angry. Unexpectedly, the plan was discovered by the opponent.

In this case, Ji Ling leading two thousand cavalry to attack would be meaningless.

He was planning to turn his cavalry into infantry and forcibly capture Anfeng County, which had few defenders.

But following Chen Mu's order, on the city wall where there seemed to be only a few people, suddenly war drums roared and flags covered the sky and the sun.

Many armored archers walked to the city wall and bent their bows to point at the two thousand cavalry outside the city.

When Ji Ling saw this, he knew that the city was not an option. He glanced at Chen Mu with a cold look, and then shouted: "Go back ten miles and set up camp!"

In order to prevent the other party from sneak attack, the camp should usually be about twenty miles away from the city.

However, Ji Ling bullied the few soldiers in the city and was not worried about the enemy coming for a sneak attack, so he openly camped ten miles outside the city.

He was even praying secretly that it would be best for Chen Mu to come and cause trouble regardless of life and death. Then he could kill Chen Mu first and then take Anfeng County.

But it was said that Yuan Shu had conquered three cities in a row, and was dreaming of repeating his old tricks to capture Anfeng County, but suddenly a messenger was sent by Ji Ling, telling him everything that happened in Anfeng County.

When Yuan Shu heard this, he couldn't help but his face darkened, and he cursed: "What a waste. You can sneak into the city with a caravan and be discovered by others!"

When Yuan Shu learned that Ji Ling had been lost, he did not dare to stay any longer and immediately urged his [-] troops to march southward.

Since a sneak attack fails, then use force to overwhelm others.

Lujiang is now empty of troops, and Yuan Shu is confident that he can easily capture the entire Lujiang.

But Zhang Liao was worried that Anfeng County would be lost, so he rushed towards Anfeng County at night and night with only [-] cavalry and dry food.

"Report!"

"Yuan Shu's scouts were found near Anfeng County!"

When Zhang Liao heard the scout's report, his heart sank and he thought to himself: "After all, I'm still a step too late!"

In Zhang Liao's view, since Yuan Jun's scouts have appeared around Anfeng County, it means that Yuan Shu's army has arrived in Anfeng County.

He knew that there were no garrison troops at all in ordinary county towns, only some officers used to maintain daily stability, plus those who had been trained as reserve soldiers.

If someone had planned to sneak into the city in advance, the one or two hundred officers alone would not have been able to do the job.

He turned around and looked at the three hundred cavalrymen under his command who were somewhat exhausted from the long-distance attack. After all, he gritted his teeth helplessly and prepared to order a retreat.

Now that Anfeng County has been lost, these three hundred cavalry alone can't do much, so they have to conserve their strength and withdraw their troops first.

At this moment, the scout continued: "But according to my observation, there are still flags of generals on the city, as well as a large flag with the word 'Chen'."

Generally speaking, in times of war, in order to show one's identity, it is indeed necessary to set up a flag.

The purpose of setting up the banner of the Chariot and Cavalry General is to tell others that this city is still under the jurisdiction of the Chariot and Cavalry General and has not been lost.

The purpose of setting up the banner with the word "Chen" is to tell others who the guard general in the city is.

Chen Mu was once recruited by Zhou Qi as a member of the army, and he also practiced the art of war, so he naturally knew the importance of the flag.

It was precisely because Chen Mu did this that he gave Zhang Liao the signal that Anfeng County had not been lost.

Zhang Liao couldn't help but be overjoyed when he heard this, and asked: "Did you read that right? There really are flags of generals on the city wall?"

The scout nodded heavily.

Zhang Liao asked again: "Have the Yuan Jun scouts noticed you?"

The scout said with some embarrassment: "They were discovered, and there are so many of them that we don't dare to fight, so we have to retreat first."

Zhang Liao's face couldn't help but become solemn when he heard this.

He only had [-] cavalry under his command. If Yuan Jun led troops to pursue and intercept them, they would not be able to enter the city at all.

But soon, Zhang Liao felt something in his heart and asked, "Have you ever heard the cry of killing coming from the city?"

The scout replied: "Never!"

Zhang Liao looked thoughtful, and then thought to himself: "Since Yuan Jun did not attack the city, he must have returned to the camp. It will take some time for the scouts to report back and the general Yuan Jun to lead his troops to kill."

"As long as we enter the city before Yuan Jun arrives, we will be fine."

Thinking of this, Zhang Liao immediately shouted sharply: "All the scouts go to the front to investigate the enemy's situation. The rest of the brothers will follow me into Anfeng County!"

But it was said that after Chen Mu forced Ji Ling back, he did not leave the city wall, but instead ate and slept with the city defenders here.

The soldiers, who were still a little anxious at first, felt relieved when they saw the county magistrate beside them.

"County Magistrate Chen, a group of cavalry suddenly came from the south gate. The leader called himself Zhang Liao, the captain of Lujiang County. He asked us to open the city gate."

"I'm worried that they are Yuan Jun defrauding the city and they don't dare to open the door. I asked the county magistrate to make a decision!"

Chen Mu had just finished eating when he saw the county magistrate running over in a hurry.

Chen Mu stood up suddenly, with a thoughtful look on his face.

Logically speaking, Shu County is far away from Anfeng County, and his letter asking for help had just been sent out not long ago, so reinforcements could not arrive so quickly.

There is a high probability that the cavalry outside the city are Yuan Jun.

However, pretending to be Zhang Liao, the captain of Lujiang County, was too cheap a trick, and Chen Mu felt there was something fishy about it.

He did not dare to neglect, hurriedly walked down the city wall, and rode towards the south gate.

Chen Mu climbed up the city wall and saw about three hundred cavalry outside. Sure enough, all of them were wearing Lujiang County soldiers' armor and carrying a banner with the word "Zhang", but they still couldn't tell whether they were friends or foes.He shouted to Zhang Liao: "You say that you are Captain Zhang of Lujiang County. Can you prove your identity?"

Seeing that the other party did not recognize him, Zhang Liao was not surprised. He raised his seal and said in a deep voice, "Here is the seal. Magistrate Chen can check it."

Chen Mu used a basket to hang the seal ribbon up. After careful inspection, he found that it was indeed the seal ribbon of the Lujiang County Captain.

But he still didn't dare to be careless and continued: "The seal and ribbon can be faked. Do you have anything else to prove your identity?"

Although Zhang Liao admired the Anfeng County Magistrate's prudence, he could not explain clearly in his hurry. He immediately shouted: "I have never seen you. How can I prove my identity except for the seal and ribbon?"

"While I was waiting to come over, Yuan Jun's scouts had already discovered my trace. If I don't open the door again, it will be too late to regret it when Yuan Jun comes and kills me!"

Chen Mu felt awe in his heart, but how could he dare to open the door without knowing the identity of the other party? He could only continue to say: "Please forgive me. The reinforcements have been sent to the city before. If I hadn't found out in advance, I'm afraid Anfeng County would have already Changed ownership.”

"It's hard to identify your Excellency. What if the bandit army deceives the city?"

Zhang Liao had no choice but to say: "Let's take off our armor, dismount our horses, throw away our weapons, and enter the city empty-handed. You can keep the horses, weapons, and armor for the time being. How about that?"

Seeing that the other party was so calm, Chen Mu was worried about the arrival of reinforcements, so he immediately followed Zhang Liao's words and let them enter the city.

Sure enough, not long after Zhang Liao and others entered the city, Ji Ling, who got the news, had already led his army to kill them.

Zhang Liao and Chen Mu had a good explanation. Only then did the other party know the whole story and couldn't help but praise: "Thanks to the county guard and the captain for knowing everything, they were able to lead troops to help Anfeng County before Yuan Shu's army arrived."

"With the captain here, I can breathe a sigh of relief."

At this time, Zhang Liao was extremely curious and said: "As far as I know, there are no troops stationed in Anfeng County. How can you kill Yuan Jun and keep Ji Ling out of the city?"

Chen Mu then explained: "After I discovered the detailed preparations of the reinforcements, I concluded that the other party might be plotting against Anfeng County, so I secretly asked the county lieutenant to go outside the city to recruit more than a thousand rebels. Only then could Anfeng County be temporarily saved."

"If there is any overstep, I will apologize to the county governor and the lord after the war is over."

When Zhang Liao heard this, he couldn't help but look at Chen Mu with admiration. He didn't expect that in a county like Anfeng, there would be someone with both civil and military skills like Chen Mu.

After eating and drinking enough, Zhang Liao asked his cavalry to go to bed first, then found Chen Mu and asked: "There are many thieves now and we are few, and the three counties in the north have been lost. It won't be long before Yuan Shu leads his army to kill him."

"Does Magistrate Chen have any countermeasures?"

Chen Mu frowned when he heard this, and then asked: "When will the reinforcements arrive?"

Zhang Liao said: "About three days."

Chen Mu frowned even more when he heard this, and then smiled bitterly and said: "With more than a thousand rebels in the city, it would be difficult to stop Yuan Shu's tens of thousands of troops."

Anfeng County is not an important pass place built near mountains and rivers like Chencang.

If you want to attack a dangerous pass like Chencang, having many soldiers and horses will not be of much use, but if you want to attack a small county like Anfeng County, having many soldiers and horses will come in handy.

Yuan Shu could surround the four gates with numerous troops and horses, or he could find ways to attack the surrounding walls, knock down the broken walls, or dig tunnels into the city.

With the troops and horses in Anfeng County, there is no way to divide the troops to guard everywhere.

Zhang Liao couldn't help but sigh slightly.

Although Anfeng County is adjacent to Jueshui to the east, there is no Lujiang navy above Jueshui. There are too few soldiers and horses in the city to defend Jueshui to resist Yuan Shu.

Compared with Xiangyang or other military important places, the city wall of Anfeng County is really not worth mentioning.

Zhang Liao pondered for a long time and said: "There are many newly recruited rebels in the city today. If Yuan Shu leads a large army to arrive, he will definitely be frightened."

"I want to attack Ji Ling at night to boost the morale of the defenders. What does County Magistrate Chen think?"

When Chen Mu heard this, his face was full of surprise and said: "The captain has only four hundred cavalry, and they all come to attack over a long distance. They must be short of men and horses. How can we launch a night attack?"

Zhang Liao asked back: "Even County Magistrate Chen thinks so, and Ji Ling probably doesn't think I will launch a night attack."

"That's what it means to catch the enemy by surprise and attack them when they are not prepared!"

Chen Mu continued: "The captain has too few soldiers and horses. Once Ji Ling reacts and leads his troops to fight, it will be very bad."

When Zhang Liao heard this, he smiled and said: "County Magistrate Chen doesn't know something. War horses are most afraid of fire."

"If there is a mixture of infantry and cavalry in the camp, I will be three times afraid. Unfortunately, Yuan Jun's camp is full of cavalry. As long as the fire is set at night, the horses will be frightened."

"At that time, the horses were galloping around and collided with Sergeant Yuan's soldiers. They were bound to be in disarray. Where would you have time to take care of me?"

Although Chen Mu is smart, he was born in the south after all.

On the other hand, Zhang Liao came from the North and had been dealing with horses since he was a child. He knew the pros and cons of cavalry clearly.

Seeing that Zhang Liao had made up his mind, Chen Mu immediately stopped trying to persuade him and just asked him to rest first so that he could recharge his batteries for a night attack.

But in the early morning, Zhang Liao eliminated more than two hundred cavalrymen with night blindness and left the city with only about a hundred people.

They had their heads tied and their horses' hooves bound. Taking advantage of the early morning hours when people were sleeping, they quietly approached the camp set up by Ji Ling.

Since Ji Ling and others marched in a hurry with only dry food and no baggage, the camp was very simple and there were not even many defensive measures.

The soldiers who were sent out by Ji Ling to watch the night didn't take it seriously and found a place to sleep soundly.

In the final analysis, Ji Ling was not cautious enough and was not rigorous in running the army.

Seeing this, Zhang Liao couldn't help but secretly said: "God is really helping me!"

Zhang Liao had his antlers pulled away, then he got on his horse and led more than a hundred of his cavalry into the camp. He first grabbed his tongue and asked where the horses were stored, and then regardless of the situation, he headed towards there at the head of the pack.

A camp of 2000 people can be called big or small.

With their horses galloping, Zhang Liao and others quickly arrived at the place where the horses were stored.

Zhang Liao personally led 50 men to charge and kill, causing chaos in the camp, and asked the remaining men to cut the ropes tied to the horses.

When Ji Ling hurriedly led his troops to attack, he was face to face with Zhang Liao.

When Zhang Liao saw Ji Ling, he didn't want to fight. He whistled directly and all fifty of his cavalry shouted in unison, looking for another way through the camp to kill.

Ji Ling was shocked and angry when he saw this, but he did not dare to lead his troops to pursue him. Instead, he rushed towards the location of the war horse.

"boom!"

At the same time, a raging fire suddenly broke out in the stable. Hundreds of war horses whose ropes were cut were frightened and they all rushed out crazily.

The remaining war horses that had no time to cut the rope were also restless.

For a time, the entire camp was filled with war horses that were frightened and ran around. Many Yuan troops were injured or trampled to death.

Zhang Liao joined the soldiers who were cutting the ropes, and then took advantage of the chaos to rush back and forth in the camp, but no one stopped him.

Chen Mu, who was guarding the city worriedly, couldn't help but his eyes lit up when he saw the flames soaring into the sky in the distance.

He waited for a long time, but did not see the fire extinguishing in the distance. He couldn't help but thought to himself: "The fire has not been extinguished, which means that the Yuan Jun camp has been in chaos, and Ji Ling and others have no time to put out the fire."

Chen Mu looked excited and immediately summoned the soldiers and civilians in the city who were not night blind to go out of the city to meet Zhang Liao and expand the victory.

But it is said that Zhang Liao took advantage of the frightened war horses and led his troops to rush back and forth in the camp to prevent Ji Ling and others from putting out the fire.

Although they were galloping freely and invincibly, their numbers were too small. They could only cause some chaos at best, and it was unrealistic to kill as many enemies as they wanted.

Zhang Liao and others charged for a long time, and saw that many people had gathered around Ji Ling, and An was supporting more than a hundred war horses, they couldn't help but feel awe-struck.

He was considering whether to retreat when he suddenly saw a fire dragon appearing outside the camp, and the sound of killing was heard immediately.

Zhang Liao looked at nearly four torches and couldn't help but feel suspicious, secretly thinking: "How could Chen Mu organize so many people to come to help?"

"Kill!"

"Capture Ji Ling alive!"

The shouts of killing came closer and closer, causing Sergeant Yuan, who had been a little calmer, to suddenly become panicked.

Zhang Liao took the opportunity to shout: "Five thousand reinforcements have arrived, kill all the traitors and capture Ji Ling alive!"

"Everyone, follow me and charge. I won't kill anyone who surrenders!"

More than a hundred riders behind them also shouted in unison: "Those who surrender will not be killed!"

"The descendants do not kill!"

"The descendants do not kill!"

There was a panic in Yuan Jun's camp. Many soldiers really thought that the enemy army was coming, so they knelt down and surrendered.

Zhang Liao and others did not break their promise and refused to kill the soldiers who knelt down to surrender. This attracted more and more soldiers from Yuan Army to kneel down and surrender.

Ji Ling, who was originally preparing to launch a counterattack, couldn't help but feel awe-inspiring as he looked at the countless torches coming from far and near.

He was worried that he would be surrounded by enemy troops, so he immediately led more than a hundred cavalry to flee without caring about the camp that had become a mess.

"Ji Ling has escaped. Those who surrender will not be killed!"

Zhang Liao's eyes widened and he shouted hurriedly.

"Ji Ling has escaped. Those who surrender will not be killed!"

The cavalrymen behind him also shouted loudly.

In this chaotic situation, the lethality of the shouts was more powerful than the hundreds of people who robbed the camp.

Yuan Jun's cavalry, who had lost their coach, really had no fighting spirit. Most of them dispersed and fled, but a small number of them finally knelt down and surrendered.

When Chen Mu led his army to kill, almost no one in the camp resisted, and everyone who should escape fled.

Zhang Liao saw Chen Mu and asked, "Where did you bring so many soldiers and horses?"

According to Zhang Liao's estimation, most of the rebels in the city came from poor backgrounds, and at least half of them couldn't see at night. There was no way they could gather so many people together.

Chen Mu pointed at the person behind him and said with a smile: "Captain, look here."

Zhang Liao saw it and immediately understood.

It turned out that in order to bluff and support Zhang Liao, Chen Mu not only brought out all the soldiers who did not suffer from night blindness, but also recruited many common people.

Each of them lit two torches, so from a distance, it seemed like countless soldiers and horses were coming, which made Ji Ling flee in fear.

Zhang Liao immediately patted Chen Mu on the shoulder and said, "You should be the first to achieve this great victory!"

Zhang Liao immediately ordered people to guard the prisoners, put out the fire, comfort and chase down the frightened horses.

These war horses are rare treasures for the southern land.

(End of this chapter)