Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3597: The Ant Gate

Man Chong is very confident.

He felt that he could control everything in Luoyang City.

Including everything and everyone.

This feeling became even stronger after he caught Wang Yun.

He disdained to play any tricks or tactics on Wang Yun. He believed that the prestige he had accumulated in the law and punishment was enough to make Wang Yun surrender.

This is indeed the case.

Wang Yun was a little confused and didn't know what to do.

Not everyone is born with a mastery of criminology, knowing how to conceal their emotions, cover up their words and deeds, and then be able to make a convincing argument when they are caught at the scene...

Oh, maybe the boxing master is an exception.

But it was obvious that Wang Yun was just an ordinary person, and his first half of life was also muddled...

He joined the army just to make a living.

Home and country, ideals, they are all too far away from him.

After his home was destroyed, he had nowhere to go. Simply put, if Dong Zhuo was recruiting soldiers at that time, he might have joined Dong Zhuo's army.

As for the later emperor and Han Dynasty, those were all things that happened after he survived.

But now, after so many years of military life, he has seen life and death, and between life and death, he has gradually come to understand some things and grasped some principles.

Life and death are great terrors.

To live, you must eat.

Eat the dead bodies of plants, eat the dead bodies of animals, eat everything that can be eaten, cook it, roast it, try every way to eat it.

Possession, greed, and embezzlement of other items also originate from eating.

After all, if you want to eat more and eat better, you will naturally think of these things and do these things.

Most people could not resist such greed, including Wang Yun. He also sucked the blood of soldiers, ate empty salaries, and exploited the lower-level soldiers. When he encountered problems and wanted to escape, he could not summon all his soldiers, nor could he trust everyone around him. Except for the cook military school who sucked the blood of soldiers with him, and a few soldiers with whom he had a good relationship, he had no other choice.

After all, apart from being classmates, they had lived together for everything else.

They were like two grasshoppers on the same rope, so that's why Wang Yun took the cook to the military school.

Just like some American bureaucrats in later generations would always bring adjutants, secretaries, drivers, etc. with them when they took office.

Wang Yun thought about a lot of things, but he didn't expect that before he could even start his plan, he would be pinned to the ground by Man Chong.

Under the fear of being exposed, Wang Yun seemed to be doing something instinctively in a daze, until he smelled the kerosene, then greater fear came over him, causing him to break out of his confused state.

"This, this is kerosene?!"

There was some kerosene on Wang Yun's hands, which made him feel creepy, as if he had touched the body of a dead soul.

"How fresh is this? Haven't you seen this before among the kings, the generals and the dukes?"

Xu Xinli on the side snorted.

"I have seen..."

Wang Yun answered in a low voice.

"Don't be surprised if you've seen it. Send a signal to the cavalry!" Xu Xianli said, "If you want to live, do your best! If you fall down, it will be a great achievement!"

"Yes, yes..." Wang Yun lowered his head, "I understand, I understand..."

……

……

The sound of a gong at three o'clock in the morning rang out in Luoyang City, and then broke on the city wall.

Zhang Liao reined in his horse and stood on the slope outside the east gate, looking up at the east gate.

Torches flickered on the city walls.

That was the signal Wang Yun had agreed upon.

Everything seems to be going well...

Wang Yun said that he had found a way to cut off the flow of water in the underground canal within the city, so he only needed Zhang Liao to enter the city to capture Luoyang City.

Is it really that smooth?

The night wind blew across the ring-handled sword on Zhang Liao's waist, and the red cloth on the sword ring fluttered under the moonlight and starlight.

"General! The guard at the East Gate has really been changed!" The vanguard leader came to report excitedly.

Zhang Liao nodded, but there was not much of a smile on his face.

"General?" the vanguard leader asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Zhang Liao looked at the dark Luoyang City. "I think this matter is too easy, too simple... Although it seems that there is no problem now, but... be more careful. If there is anything wrong, retreat immediately!"

The forward team leader didn't say anything, but just bowed heavily!

After fighting for so many years, licking blood on the tip of a knife, and risking life in fire and water, how could there be no danger?

All merits are achieved on horseback, but how many dead bones are left beneath the horses?

Watching the vanguard leading the soldiers forward, Zhang Liao touched the old scar on his brow.

The old wound seemed to be aching again, as if reminding him of something.

"Come here! Pass the order! Have the A-camp prepare food immediately and feint an attack on the west gate of Luoyang City at 5 a.m.!" Zhang Liao ordered, "Also dispatch the best soldiers from the scout camp to sneak into the Luoshui River and go to the south gate of Luoyang. After the feint attack on the east gate, find an opportunity to climb the city!"

……

……

In the shadow of the eaves of the watchtower, Wang Yun's Adam's apple rolled up and down in the smell of kerosene.

Xu Xinli suddenly came over and put an unlit torch into his hand.

"I'll give you a chance..."

Xu Xili's voice was smooth, and when he handed the unlit torch to Wang Yun, it seemed as if he was giving it in a condescending manner.

This suddenly reminded Wang Yun of the noble generals who had ordered him to bury the Yellow Turban soldiers.

It seems to have such a smooth tone, drawn out, and there must be some modal particles at the end of the word.

"What's wrong?" Xu Xianli chuckled, as if seeing Wang Yun's embarrassment and entanglement made him happy, "I'm telling you... this is your last chance... you have to be smart, do you understand?"

Since Xu Xili wanted to climb up the social ladder, he naturally learned to speak like someone from the upper class. From the elegant language of the Zhou Dynasty to the official language of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the official language of officials has always been deeply tied to the power of centralization. Official language is both an administrative tool and a continuation of the traditional way of "bureaucrats governing the country."

Originally, Xu Tingli might have been a little bit wary of Wang Yun's status as a military marquis. After all, he could execute a sergeant at will, but he could not execute a military marquis first and report later. Now that Wang Yun's identity had changed, Xu Tingli felt an inexplicable pleasure in his heart.

It’s like the goddess you once longed for is now worth eight hundred dollars a night.

Wang Yun looked at the torch in his hand, silent.

"Oh, you are so reluctant..." Xu Xili sneered.

"No, no..." Wang Yun shook his head, "The envoy said that after the matter is completed... I can leave Luoyang..."

"How can a surrendered soldier negotiate terms?" Xu Xianli sneered, then seemed to realize something and changed his words, "Your Excellency is of course a man of your word... Wait until you lead the cavalry army into the city and redeem yourself. Who knows, when you are rewarded, you won't be willing to leave!"

……

……

In this world, life and death seem to be only one step away.

"It's up to you... You should know your place and not drag your family down..." The Xiezhi crown was shaking, and he wanted to hide away.

Wang Yun grabbed the torch and said, "Why not pour kerosene in now?"

Xu Xianli snorted coldly, "Do you think I'm as stupid as you? If I fall down now, won't the cavalry find me? After they come in, I'll fall down again... Hehe, haha, Lord Wang, have you ever seen a rat burnt by fire?"

"…" Wang Yun fell silent.

After waiting for a while at the entrance of the culvert, some sounds of metal clashing suddenly came from deep in the culvert.

At this time, the Cavalry received the signal and began to dismantle the iron fence in the culvert.

Wang Yun gritted his teeth and secretly glanced at Man Chong's guard who was standing not far behind him.

Xu Xili naturally would not want to be in danger, but he also left two Man Chong guards to keep a close eye on him.

Wang Yun had no weapon in his hand, only an unlit torch. Even his armor had been stripped off, leaving only an ordinary battle robe.

A faded battle robe with some patches on it.

The sounds in the culvert gradually became more and more chaotic, filling Wang Yun's eardrums and stirring his nerves.

Suddenly, he was pushed by the guard behind him. "Why are you standing there like an idiot? Go and tell them to send more people!"

Wang Yun staggered and was pushed to the entrance of the culvert.

The guard patted Wang Yun on the back of his head, not too hard or too lightly, as if he was patting a dog, "Behave yourself! Listen carefully! Otherwise, I will stab you to death!"

The cold blade pressed against Wang Yun's back.

……

……

The water level in the culvert has indeed dropped a lot.

The smell of decay and filth filled the interior of the culvert.

The hussar soldiers were basically bent over, or even half squatting, with half of their bodies immersed in the water of the culvert as they moved forward.

The sound of water is splashing.

Armor, shields, and swords would occasionally hit the stone walls of the culvert, making noises.

At the beginning, the team leader tried to reduce the noise as much as possible, but after walking for a while, he found that it was impossible to avoid it. There was some silt at the bottom of the culvert, and even if they brought some planks and hay, they could not avoid sliding, becoming unstable, and then colliding with the stone wall on the side. So later on, the team leader simply stopped covering up the noise. Anyway, now it was either success or failure...

"There's someone ahead!"

In the culvert, the hussar soldier at the front whispered.

The queue stopped.

The leader of the cavalry rolled his eyes twice, "Let's send two people out first to check the situation..."

The vanguard soldier was about to leave when the captain stopped him, "Take a closer look... the general said there might be a trick..."

The vanguard soldiers moved forward, and the captain turned his head and said, "Stay where you are."

……

……

The vanguard soldiers of the cavalry, one in front and one behind, arrived near the entrance of the culvert and saw Wang Yun and others waiting at the entrance.

"I... I, I don't have a knife or a gun..." Wang Yun saw a figure moving in the dark channel, and couldn't help but call out, "I'm here..."

Wang Yun felt as if the knife behind him had pierced through the robe on his back and stabbed into his flesh.

"Be quiet!" The guard Man Chong behind Wang Yun seemed to squeeze out a few words from between his teeth.

The hussar soldier at the front slowly revealed half of his face from the shadows. He first stared at Wang Yun, then looked into the distance, listened for some movement, and then took a few steps forward, exposing himself to the firelight outside. "Are you Wang Junhou?"

Wang Yun nodded, "Yes, I am..."

"What's the situation here now? How many Cao troops are there?" the hussar soldier asked.

"No, not many..." Wang Yun said, "I have sent everyone else away, there are not many people here now..."

The hussar looked Wang Yun up and down, then looked at Man Chong, the guard behind Wang Yun, and his eyes moved slightly, "Are you sure?"

Wang Yun swallowed his saliva, "Confirmed, confirmed, everything is normal... You, you are here, how many people are here?"

"Don't worry about it, just keep an eye on the cave entrance," the hussar soldier retreated again, "I'll go back and report..."

……

……

"How about it?"

The team leader in the culvert asked.

The hussar soldiers who had met Wang Yun were a little hesitant.

"What happened?" the captain asked, "Tell me the whole story..."

The soldier briefly recounted the process of his meeting with Wang Yun, including the questions he asked, Wang Yun's answers, and the questions Wang Yun asked, etc.

After hearing this, the captain instinctively felt that something was wrong. "He said he sent the others away? This is not right, not right..."

"What's wrong?" the soldier asked.

"If he can just send us away, then why do we have to go through the secret channel? Why not just open the city gate?" The captain frowned and said, and then suddenly remembered another detail that the soldier just mentioned, "By the way, you said he didn't wear armor?"

"Yes, he didn't wear any. But, but what's strange is that the guard standing behind that guy is wearing full body armor..." The soldier who went forward to investigate whispered.

"Ha! What does this mean? Does he think he is invulnerable?" the captain asked, seemingly asking the soldiers, but also seemed to be asking himself.

"It's a bit strange indeed." said the soldier who went out in front.

The captain took a deep breath, waved his hand, gritted his teeth and said, "The general has ordered that if there is any problem, retreat immediately! The front team becomes the rear team, retreat!"

Although they had come this far and were just a little bit away from entering Luoyang City, the vanguard team did not forget what Zhang Liao had specifically told them before departure.

……

……

The sound of metal clattering not only did not get closer, but it was becoming increasingly fainter.

Wang Yun was a little confused.

"Something's wrong!"

The guard Man Chong standing behind Wang Yun noticed something unusual, so he pushed Wang Yun away and rushed into the entrance of the culvert.

A moment later, the guard came out again in a rage, "They ran away! They ran away!"

Man Chong's guard threw Wang Yun to the ground with a scabbard, "Is it you? Is it you?!"

Man Chong received the news and rushed over. His eyes fell on the guards and Wang Yun who was beaten to the ground. Suddenly, he slapped his forehead in annoyance, "Oh!"

Before Man Chong could say anything, he suddenly heard a huge noise coming from the west gate of Luoyang City!

Man Chong's face suddenly changed and he hurriedly prepared to go west.

"Your Excellency, Your Excellency!" Xu Xianli said anxiously, "What should we do with this thief?!"

"Hold him first!" Man Chong had no time to deal with Wang Yun. He thought Zhang Liao was just bluffing at the east gate and was actually preparing to storm the west gate. "Leave one team behind to fill the culvert! Everyone else! Go back to the west gate to defend!"

Xu Xianli asked anxiously, "Do you want to add kerosene to burn it, sir?"

"Just fill it up with sand, soil and rocks! Everyone's gone, what's there to burn?!" Man Chong said as he hurried away, "Put away the kerosene first, it will be useful later, don't waste it! The same goes for this guy, don't kill him!"

It would be easy to chop off Wang Yun's head, but if Wang Yun's head could be used as a warning to others, it would be considered a good use of the resource to some extent...

……

……

"I gave you a chance, but you are useless..."

Xu Xili crushed Wang Yun's face with the sole of his shoe with a twisted smile on his face.

He likes the feeling of stepping on others the most because that's how he was stepped on by those nobles when he was a child.

"Your Excellency, please be merciful and allow you to make amends for your crimes... But what did you do? Huh? You are a waste, a waste! If you can't even handle such a small matter, what's the point of keeping you?"

Wang Yun said with difficulty: "I said... I promised... to let me go..."

"Hahaha, hahaha!" Xu Xianli waved his hands, "Come here, hang this thief up! Hang him right here! I want everyone to see how a traitor ends up!"

The feeling of beating up a military officer made Xu Xili very excited.

Even a former military marquis.

Besides, there is war in Ximen now. If I do nothing, I might be transferred to Ximen. So I might as well find something to do.

"Go ahead..."

Xu Xianli picked up a whip and clapped his hands twice, "On behalf of the Han Dynasty, on behalf of the emperor, on behalf of the envoy, I am asking you a question... Who are your accomplices?"

Although I have asked this before, a sense of ritual is very important.

……

……

"It's bad! It's bad!" A cook came to the side of the cook's military school and shouted, "Wang Junhou, Wang Junhou has been arrested! He is being hung up and beaten by that damn Xu Xianli! It sounds like he is interrogating some of his accomplices!"

The cook shuddered suddenly.

"Did the military marquis say anything?"

The cook asked anxiously.

"It looks like he didn't... But..." the cook whispered, "What if he tells it?"

The cook lowered his head, and after a moment gritted his teeth and said, "At this point, there is no other way! If you stick your head out, you'll get a knife. If you lock your head, you'll get a knife too! It's better to survive!"

"Boss, you, you are..." The cook was a little flustered.

"Do you have any other ideas?" the cook asked.

The cook was silent for a moment, shook his head, and then said hastily, "But we can't beat them! We don't have swords or guns, not even armor..."

"No need to fight..." The cook turned his gaze to the rear camp in the city, "There are no swords or guns... Is there still no fire?"

……

……

"The fire is breaking!"

"The fire is coming!"

"Someone come quickly!"

Chaotic shouts, accompanied by flames, rose from the place where supplies were stored near the east gate of the city.

"Oh no! That kerosene!"

Xu Xianli, who was whipping Wang Yun, was startled and immediately stopped punishing him. He immediately led his men to the place where the fire was raging.

Wang Yun, who was whipped all over his body, heard someone calling him in a daze. He then drank a few sips of the rice water that was brought to his mouth, and then he gradually regained consciousness. He barely opened his swollen eyelids and saw the cook military school.

"Great! Quick, quick, carry him and let's escape through the culvert!"

The cook saw Wang Yun wake up and said hurriedly.

"I can't...get out...the culvert is blocked..."

Wang Yun was untied, breathing rapidly, and the pain in every part of his body reminded him of a harsh fact.

Even if he listened to Man Chong and tried to lure the Hussars, it still couldn't change his final outcome...

"What?!" The cook's original plan was to escape from the culvert during the chaos, but when he heard Wang Yun say that the culvert was blocked, he was immediately stunned. "Then, what should we do now?"

Wang Yun sat on the ground, silent for a while, then suddenly raised his head and said through gritted teeth, "There is no other way... Open the city gate! Welcome the cavalry!"

"What?" The cook's eyes widened. "We don't have swords or guns, nor armor!"

Wang Yun let out a long breath, "Death is inevitable... Sometimes, some things are more useful than swords, guns, and armor!"