Mo Sang – CH 256

Chapter 256. The Opponent

Old Ye, the letter carrier, was an honest man. Hei Ma and Xiao Lu addressed him as “Second Uncle,” and after a while, Old Ye genuinely considered the three of them his own nephews and niece.

Along the way, Old Ye was the most anxious, urging Li Sangrou and the others to hurry. The sooner they arrived, the more likely they were to survive!

Along the way, whenever they encountered a letter carrier traveling from east to west, they would inquire in detail about their journey, the situation in Jiande City, whether they had heard of war, and how they were doing.

As they approached Jixi, Old Ye and acquaintances they encountered along the way, along with Hei Ma and Xiao Lu, gathered bits and pieces of information from the Hangzhou soldiers, and pieced together enough for Meng Yanqing and Li Sangrou to deduce the general course of events leading up to the encounter between the Shizi’s army and the Southern Liang army.

The Shizi’s army stealthily advanced towards Shaoxing, leading the vanguard, unaware that General Wu had abandoned Changsha and led the entire Tanzhou garrison back to reinforce Hangzhou.

The Shizi likely had not anticipated General Wu’s decisiveness and speed.

Before deciding to abandon Changsha and return to Hangzhou, General Wu must have exerted every effort to warn Hangzhou and the surrounding garrisons. He must have dispatched numerous elite scouts before the main force’s movement; these scouts undoubtedly possessed intimate knowledge of the terrain from Changsha to Hangzhou and the surrounding area.

General Wu must have discovered the enemy before the Shizi.

The Shizi was probably caught in a pincer attack by the Southern Liang Army outside Jiande City, and sought refuge within the city, only to be quickly defeated.

The Shizi’s thirty thousand troops were overwhelmingly outnumbered by General Wu’s one hundred thousand-strong army from Tanzhou and the main force of Hangzhou. They had no chance of victory.

Judging from the situation along the way, after the Shizi’s army was routed, at least the Shizi himself was not killed in action; his fate was unknown, his whereabouts unclear.

Only the Shizi would warrant the Southern Liang people deploying a large number of elite troops from the surrounding areas of Hangzhou to search and guard the area from Jiande City northwards all the way to Longmen Pass, even in this life-or-death crisis.

……………………

Outside the city gate of Jixi County, a few dozen people stood loosely in a line, waiting to enter the city.

Li Sangrou leaned against a nearby high slope, standing behind dense bushes, carefully observing the direction of the city gate.

Outside the city gate was a wooden fence made of antler slats. Outside the fence, a row of about ten men, their uniforms dirty, were tied together with thick ropes, each looking dejected and listless.

Li Sangrou hurriedly retreated down the slope, calling out to Hei Ma for the first time since they arrived, “Second Brother, come here!”

“What’s wrong?” Hei Ma quickly jumped past Old Ye.

“There’s a row of Qi Army prisoners at the city gate,” Li Sangrou said in a very low voice.

“Huh?” Hei Ma was startled, then realized what she meant, his eyes widening in surprise. He blinked hard a few times to bring them back to normal. “Then?”

What should they do?

There were countless soldiers in the Qi Army camp who recognized them!

Moreover, ninety percent of them were soldiers who recognized them, while they did not recognize the soldiers!

“Call Old Ye back. We cannot enter the city at this time. Xiao Lu, go tell Old Meng right away.” Li Sangrou’s expression was not good. “They are at the city gate, maybe in the patrol teams, or even on the watchtowers. We cannot move around outside anymore.”

“Alright,” Hei Ma replied.

Xiao Lu, who had been listening intently with his face turned outwards, went straight to find Meng Yanqing.

Li Sangrou stood behind the dense bushes again, carefully observing the group of Qi prisoners.

A Southern Liang squad leader, carrying a long stick, would occasionally walk past a group of prisoners, using the stick to prop up their chins.

The prisoners were listless, but their faces and bodies showed no signs of abuse. They all stood steadily, indicating they were not hungry.

Li Sangrou’s heart sank.

Clever in mind, yet kind and compassionate—this was General Wu’s style!

Li Sangrou observed for a while longer. Old Ye and Hei Ma had already turned back several dozen steps, turning onto a small street diagonally east of the city. Li Sangrou, head down and shoulders hunched, followed them.

Outside Jixi County, the area was also bustling with people and numerous shops.

Old Ye knew Jixi very well and its many familiar inns. He had not walked far when he saw a familiar inn and quickly went inside.

The ostentatious Hei Ma, which had been traveling with great style, chose a small, elegant courtyard house.

Old Ye whispered to the shopkeeper, explaining that his nephew had made a fortune last year trading silk in Hongzhou. Young and ambitious, he was incredibly wealthy.

The shopkeeper, who had known Old Ye for over a decade and knew his family history, clicked his tongue and said, “Tell me, which branch of your uncle’s family is this?”

Old Ye nodded.

The shopkeeper beamed, “See? I guessed right!”

“Your second nephew is shrewd like your uncle and aunt, but his tendency to squander money is like your ancestors.”

“Our ancestors, only my grandparents’ generation, lived off their inheritance. Before that, my great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather were very frugal!” Old Ye glared at the shopkeeper.

“That’s right, that’s right.” You know, a lot of people from Jixi and Xiuning had gone to Hongzhou to trade silk. My eldest daughter-in-law’s cousin went too, and I heard many of them made a fortune!

And the rice merchants! Yes, you know about the rice merchants, right?

Many shrewd master rice merchants from our city have left. I heard the heads of the merchants are getting anxious. They’ve all gone to Hongzhou to open their own rice shops. They say that in Hongzhou, and now Tanzhou, it is the same as in Jiangbei—rice shops can be opened anywhere! Anyone who wants to can open one!

Over across this stream, at the very end, that young man from the Zhou family went too.

That kid has not even finished his apprenticeship yet, and he’s already brought his grandfather along. His grandfather is an old master, and he said he spent three taels of silver to hire a sedan chair to carry him there! Tsk! That’s quite a sum!” The innkeeper’s words drifted off to an unknown destination.

“We brothers have time to talk properly. I have a pile of letters to write. You know the roads are difficult to travel on these days; I need to hurry.”

“Take care of my children. My niece is frail; she caught a cold on the road and needs to rest quietly for a few days. If anything happens, please look after her.” Old Ye was preoccupied with his own worries and had no time for idle chatter with the innkeeper.

“Do not worry about that. We’ve known each other for over ten years. Go ahead, do not worry about things here.” The innkeeper readily agreed, stepping aside and repeatedly calling for his waiter to bring hot water, soup, and extra snacks.

Watching Old Ye leave the inn, Meng Yanqing seized the opportunity to slip inside.

Li Sangrou stood in the middle of the courtyard, her face ashen.

“Boss.” Meng Yanqing looked at Li Sangrou’s expression, his heart sinking.

“Did Xiao Lu tell you?” Li Sangrou took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

“Yes.”

“Anyone who has not been to the main camp before?” Li Sangrou asked.

“Yes!” Meng Yanqing answered quickly.

After hearing Xiao Lu’s warning, he had already considered it and confirmed it with Dong Chao.

“There are eleven. Ten of them are a bit too old for group fights and have been staying in their hometowns, handling mail. The other one is Wei Fu. You’ve been staying with his wife at home; this is his first time on duty.”

Li Sangrou breathed a sigh of relief. Eleven was enough.

“Tell Wei Fu to come along. The remaining ten, in three groups, all disguise themselves as wealthy people like Hei Ma. Have Da Chang and Mazha help keep an eye out for them. They should disguise themselves as the kind of people they resemble. Find inns nearby and rent out small courtyards like this for everyone to hide in,” Li Sangrou instructed.

“Yes!” Meng Yanqing responded, about to leave, but hesitated, looking at Li Sangrou and asking, “This is Shezhou. What about Muzhou?”

“We will see,” Li Sangrou interrupted Meng Yanqing.

“Yes.” Meng Yanqing turned and slipped out.

Old Ye delivered letters almost day and night and also entrusted trusted messengers to deliver two more letters to remote towns. What was originally supposed to take four days in Shezhou was shortened to two and a half days. On the evening of the third day, they set off for Jiande City.

After traveling all night, at dawn, not far from Muzhou, the patrols along the way were several times more numerous and rigorous than in Shezhou.

The group traveled by day and rested by night, arriving at Wansheng Town outside Jiande City. Old Ye looked noticeably thinner from exhaustion.

Wansheng Town was a hub for travelers from all directions outside Jiande City. Those traveling north and south, east and west, all passed through Wansheng Town. Old Ye, along with his two companions, including Hei Ma, booked a small courtyard at the town’s largest and best inn and settled in.

Old Ye rested well for the night, and the next morning, he turned back towards Shezhou to deliver a message.

Wei Fu, accompanied by an Old Yunmeng guard disguised as a servant, checked into an inn with Li Sangrou. Dressed like a wealthy merchant, he booked a sizable courtyard house despite having only himself and his servant. After settling in, he and his old servant leisurely explored the scenic spots outside the city.

Xiao Lu went out and bought several sets of secondhand clothes, as well as gallnuts and tallow trees.

Li Sangrou boiled water with gallnuts and tallow trees, haphazardly ruffled her jet-black hair into a gritty, grayish-black mess, and smeared it on her face, disguising herself as a hunchbacked old woman. She then entered Jiande City with Xiao Lu, whose face was also smeared with grayish-white makeup.

In Jiande City, Qi Army prisoners of war were everywhere. Two or three, or even three or four, dejected prisoners stood at the entrance of every pharmacy and clinic.

On the main streets, a patrol of soldiers would slowly lead Qi Army prisoners past every fifteen minutes.

The brightly armored Southern Liang soldiers constantly pushed and patted the Qi Army prisoners, making them scrutinize every passerby.

Outside Jiande City, there were guards every three steps and sentries every five steps. Every town and every village entrance had more than one post, and each post had at least two Qi Army prisoners.

The city and its surroundings were heavily guarded; almost every place was checked, again and again. Further out, the patrolling cavalry squads increased in number, ten men per squad. Some led captured Qi soldiers by ropes, running alongside them, while others bound the prisoners to their horses, going through the ranks like combs.

“How many have they captured? How can there be so many? How is the Shizi fighting this battle?!” Xiao Lu, watching with bated breath, could not help but mutter a complaint.

“Many prisoners mean few deaths, is that not good? Let’s go back. Sigh,” Li Sangrou sighed.

The Southern Liang soldiers had searched so thoroughly. They were unfamiliar with the area, could not show themselves, and had no way to search. They decided to go back first.

For four or five days, Old Ye delivered messages while carefully inquiring about what was happening here and there. Every day or two, he returned to the inn and relayed all the information he had gathered to Hei Ma and Li Sangrou.

Many letters arrived, but Li Sangrou found that seven or eight out of ten were unreliable, and the remaining two or three out of ten were completely useless.

As for Wei Fu and the others, they cautiously searched everywhere but also found nothing.

In another three or four days, Old Ye’s letters would all be delivered, and he would have to return to Tongling to receive the next batch of letters.

Li Sangrou still had not made any progress, and she was filled with bitterness.

These strategies in Muzhou must have come from General Wu; as soon as she entered Muzhou, she smelled a familiar scent.

She had always been wary of confronting General Wu; if she did, the outcome would largely depend on fate.

Old Ye could not delay any longer. He set off early the next morning to return to Tongling to receive the letters, but another day passed without any results. That night, Li Sangrou stood by the window, looking up at the moon, which was half-hidden by the windowpane.

The fact that the Hangzhou army, together with General Wu’s Tanzhou army, was able to launch a pincer attack on the Shizi’s army showed that the Southern Liang court heeded General Wu’s warnings and followed his orders.

Now, Muzhou was entirely behaving in General Wu’s style, meaning it completely obeyed his commands.

In other words, General Wu remained the supreme commander of Southern Liang, and his word was law.

At this moment, Wen Yanchao and Huang Yanming’s armies were pointing their swords at Hangzhou. In Shu, with the Jiuxi Shidong remaining inactive, Wen Shunzhi and Dou Huaide’s armies would undoubtedly advance rapidly. Once Shu was recovered, Qiao An’s elite ten thousand cavalry would surely be the first to advance eastward along the river to reinforce Wen Yanchao and Huang Yanming’s forces.

Since General Wu was still the supreme commander of Southern Liang, he should currently be opposite Wen Yanchao and Huang Yanming’s armies, racking his brains, directing his troops, and preparing for a defense and counterattack.

That was the most crucial place concerning the life and death of Southern Liang.

He was definitely not here. His primary focus should be on the armies of Wen and Huang, not the Shizi.

Yet, he was here, remotely commanding, in his spare time.

Considering the distance from here to Hangzhou, a round trip would take at least a day and a night.

Add to that the reports from the garrison commander here, and then from General Wu, and it could take her two days and one night, or at least two nights and one day!

Li Sangrou’s eyes narrowed slightly.

She needed to send a dazzling, eye-catching message, widely publicizing it, so the Shizi would see it and come to her if he were still alive.

How should she send the message? What kind of message could travel far enough, like the moon, visible to all who look up?

Li Sangrou pondered this carefully. After a moment, her brow relaxed slightly, a faint smile appearing on her face. She took a few steps back, picked up the blanket from the bed, curled up in the corner, and fell asleep fully clothed.

……………………

The next morning, following Li Sangrou’s instructions, Wei Fu, accompanied by his old servant from the Yunmeng Guard, dressed in plain clothes, went straight into the city. He shopped indiscriminately on the city’s busiest street.

When the sun was high in the sky, Wei Fu finished his shopping. He hired twenty or thirty strong porters, who carried the various goods in a long line. They left the Jiande city gates and strode briskly towards Daci Temple, about ten li away from Jiande city.