Free Web NovelChapter 276: Capture East County (Part 2)
Yanzhou, Dongjun.
The Prefect’s Mansion.
Cheng Yu and Xun You were diligently reviewing official documents at the table. With the lord absent from the main city, all the governmental affairs of the entire large state of Yanzhou would be transmitted to them through various officials.
Thus, the matters were extremely busy, especially since it had not been long since Lord Cao Cao had occupied Yanzhou, and the hearts of the people of Yanzhou had not yet fully aligned.
These matters needed to be handled by them so that when the lord returned, he would find his territory more stable.
"Wenruo (Xun You), when do you think the lord will return?" Cheng Yu asked casually while reviewing documents.
"Naturally, after breaking through Xuzhou... sigh..."
"Why are you sighing, Brother Wenruo?!"
"Nothing, I was just thinking that given the lord’s nature, the innocent people of Xuzhou will likely perish."
Xun You’s face showed worry, and his hands slowed down in reviewing the documents.
Cheng Yu, however, said disdainfully: "Brother Wenruo, they are just foolish commoners, incapable of causing any trouble. Their deaths don’t matter.
The important thing is that the lord can take the rich land of Xuzhou this time!
By doing so, he can occupy both Yanzhou and Xuzhou. After a few years of recuperation, he can raise troops to either fight Yuan Shao in the north or directly take Yangzhou and Long Chen in the south."
At this point, Cheng Yu’s eyes burned with determination, and he clenched his fists.
If he could help Lord Cao Cao unify the country, he would be a loyal minister, and he and his descendants would be richly rewarded.
Cheng Yu was a talented and resourceful person who had been unrecognized for the first half of his life. Now, with Cao Cao’s recognition, he began to show his abilities.
Hearing this, Xun You’s brows furrowed slightly.
To be honest, he greatly disliked the lord’s heavy-handedness and even abhorred it.
However, Cao Cao was the lord, and he was the minister. A minister could not defy the lord’s orders. As a person with strong principles, Xun You felt helpless in this situation.
But after hearing Cheng Yu say that the people were just foolish commoners and their deaths didn’t matter, the flame in his heart grew into a raging fire.
He sneered and said: "Brother Zhongde (Cheng Yu), your words are wrong! In the pre-Qin era, the sage Mencius said,
’The people are the most important, the state is secondary, and the ruler is the least important.’
Your words completely contradict the sage’s teachings!!!"
Seeing the sarcasm in Xun You’s words, Cheng Yu said no more, as the lord held Xun You in high regard, and he didn’t want to offend him.
So, he changed the topic: "Brother Wenruo, according to the front-line scouts, Yangzhou Inspector Long Chen has come to Xuzhou with an imperial decree to confront the lord. How should this matter be resolved?"
Xun You, unwilling to continue the previous topic with Cheng Yu, said nothing more, as their views differed greatly.
Now, though they both served Cao Cao, they belonged to different factions. Xun You was from the Yingchuan faction, composed of strategists from Yingchuan, while Cheng Yu was from another faction.
Since their views and interests differed, Xun You had no need to be polite to him.
However, when it came to the issue of Long Chen, Xun You frowned in thought.
Long Chen was a well-known figure in the Han dynasty, especially after he welcomed the emperor back.
Xun You, at his core, was a loyalist who cared deeply about the Han dynasty. He followed Cao Cao because he believed Cao Cao could restore the Han dynasty.
But now, it seemed that Long Chen, who appeared out of nowhere, was already doing this.
"Brother Wenruo?" Cheng Yu asked, confused.
The moment Long Chen was mentioned, Xun You’s entire aura changed.
"Cough, cough, I believe the lord should avoid confronting him for now. After all, Long Chen nominally represents the emperor and the Han dynasty. If we clash, he will use it to slander the lord as a traitor..."
Xun You said, bowing.
Cheng Yu shook his head, "The lord’s mind is made up, and it won’t change unless something forces him to withdraw."
"... What could force him?"
A bad feeling suddenly arose in Xun You’s mind, but he couldn’t pinpoint it.
Oh well, sometimes plans cannot be forced...
Night fell, and Dongjun City was shrouded in darkness.
Xu Rong and his group sneaked out of the inn, avoiding patrolling soldiers all the way to the city gate.
On the city wall, the scattered guards stood unsteadily, drowsy.
To be honest, the guards on night duty were generally in this state. After all, it wasn’t wartime, so why be so diligent?
They would slack off as much as possible; otherwise, their bodies would suffer from the exhaustion.
Moreover, being deep within the heartland of Yanzhou, if a battle were to break out, it wouldn’t reach Dongjun.
This led to a lack of vigilance among the guards.
Seeing this, Xu Rong was overjoyed and thought, "Heaven is helping me!"
Since he had pledged allegiance to Lord Long, he had yet to achieve any military merit. This was his first step towards a significant achievement.
After signaling to the soldiers behind him, each took a crescent moon scimitar and climbed the city wall with the agility of a cat.
They hadn’t been detected with their weapons when entering the city because the crescent moon scimitars were very small and easily concealed. With the help of some silver to smooth the way, it was naturally effortless.
Xu Rong was the first to reach the city gate. His crescent moon scimitar turned into the scythe of death, silently killing dozens of guards on the wall without a sound.
This demonstrated Xu Rong’s skillful use of force. The other soldiers followed, each finding their targets.
Le Jin had drunk a lot of good wine tonight and was now groggily walking up the city wall.
Since Cao Cao had left him to guard Dongjun instead of fighting on the front lines, Le Jin was frustrated.
Missing a chance for military merit naturally made him unhappy, leading him to drink away his sorrows.
However, at this moment, he inadvertently sensed an extreme danger.
Instantly, his whole body broke out in goosebumps, and the alcohol was sobered by cold sweat.
Smelling a faint scent of blood in the air, Le Jin knew that something big was happening tonight.
A general trained to his level would have a strong sense of vigilance, similar to the Haki in "One Piece," making their senses extremely sharp.
Le Jin immediately shouted, "Who dares to cause trouble in Dongjun!?"
At the same time, he drew the sword at his waist, readying himself for combat and prepared to face any sudden danger.
Hearing the shout, Xu Rong’s heart sank.
Not good, they had been discovered, so the plan had to be advanced. freewёbnoνel.com
Xu Rong ordered in a deep voice, "Wu Lan, you and the others quickly cut the ropes and lower the city gate."
He then turned and pointed for a few others to light torches and raise them, signaling to Guo Jia and Lü Bu to attack and to start the slaughter.
Xu Rong himself, with a serious expression, grasped his long spear and charged directly at Le Jin!
