The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 515: Jiaozhou Settlement

Shi Xie's pupils suddenly contracted. Under the light of the fire, the Tang army was surrounded by iron armor, and the archers were ready to shoot. He reined in his horse suddenly, and the horse stood up and let out a sharp neigh.

"Retreat! Retreat quickly!"

Shi Xie turned his horse around and swept his long spear across, knocking down several incoming arrows. Shi Hui followed closely behind him, with an expression of disbelief and horror still on his face.

Arrows rained down, and 3,000 soldiers fell like wheat being cut. Shi Xie was shot in the shoulder, but he gritted his teeth and broke the arrow shaft, and rushed out of the encirclement under the desperate protection of his personal soldiers.

Huang Zhong roared like thunder from behind: "Fire the rockets! Don't let the old thief get away!"

Burning arrows streaked through the night sky, setting the jungle on fire. Shi Xie crouched on his horse, listening to the screams behind him, digging his fingernails deep into his palms. When they fled to Jiaozhi City in a panic, they saw torches on the top of the city, with the Tang Dynasty flag flying.

"impossible"

Shi Hui's voice trembled. The city gate burst open, and a group of black-armored cavalry filed out.

"Shi Xie, you've fallen into the trap."

Sima Yi stood on the city wall and said triumphantly. Under the firelight, his snow-white clothes fluttered in the wind, as if he was asking for his life.

Shi Xie suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. He should have thought that he was ambushed in the Tang army camp and Sima Yi might take the opportunity to seize Jiaozhi City.

Unexpectedly, things turned out to be just as he had guessed. Overnight, Jiaozhi City fell into the hands of Sima Yi. This was the accumulation of the Shi family for decades. He also wanted to rely on Jiaozhi City to resist Huang Zhong's attack, force the Tang Dynasty to give up Jiaozhi, and let the Shi family become the local emperor of Jiaozhi.

However, now it seems that all this has become a mirage. Sima Yi took advantage of his night attack on Huang Zhong to trick the city gate of Jiaozhi into opening.

"Go to Jiuzhen!"

The old Shi Xie suddenly burst out with amazing strength, grabbed Shi Hui who was about to rush forward and said loudly: "As long as you are alive, there is still a chance."

He took one last look at the city where he had lived for decades. It seemed that he heard cries and shouts coming from there, which should be the sound of the scholar's mansion being confiscated.

In the dense forest, the scattered Shi family soldiers gathered one after another. When the first rays of dawn penetrated the treetops, Shi Xie counted the remnants and found only about 200 people left. Except for Shi Hui, the other disciples disappeared or died in the chaos. At this moment, the sound of the pursuers' horns could be faintly heard on the distant mountain road.

"Look, father!"

Shi Hui suddenly pointed southeast. In the morning mist, there was a dilapidated temple of General Fubo. On the stone tablet in front of the temple, the inscription of Ma Yuan's expedition to Jiaozhi was vaguely visible. Shi Xie stumbled off his horse, and his skinny fingers stroked the inscription of "A man should die in the frontier, and be buried wrapped in horsehide", and suddenly he laughed miserably like a night owl.

"What a great death on the battlefield." He tore off his bloodstained brocade robe and spread it in front of the stele, then turned to the remnants and said sternly: "Today I, Shi Xie, swear here that I will make Huang Zhong and Sima Yi pay for their blood debt with blood!"

The sound was so shrill that it startled the birds sleeping in the forest and made them fly away in panic.

At this time, in Jiaozhi City, Sima Yi was reviewing the seized Shi clan secret files. When he turned to the last scroll with a map of the South China Sea islands, his fingertips suddenly paused - there was a small island marked with cinnabar in the corner of the map, and the words "Longyuan" were annotated next to it.

"General Gan, when you lead the navy to pursue, keep an eye on this place." Sima Yi tapped the table lightly, his mouth curled up subtly, and sneered: "The Shi family has been managing Jiaozhou for decades, how could they not have a backup plan?"

A sudden rainstorm washed away the blood on the battlefield outside the city. A large number of Tang troops and local natives began to search for the Shi clan rebels in the mountains and forests.

The real Shi Xie was now sitting on a ship sailing towards Longyuan Island. He was silently looking at the coastline in the distance. This old guy was still unwilling to accept defeat.

He thought that the Tang army would not stay in Jiaozhi for too long, and that it would be his chance when the Tang army left. Of course, he thought that the Tang navy, which had just arrived in the South China Sea, would not be able to find his trace. "Boom! Boom!"

However, at this moment, the sound of war drums was heard on the sea, and countless warships appeared in front of them in the distance.

"Let's go." Shi Xie's face was pale as he ordered the merchant ship to leave. Now he could only hope that Gan Ning didn't notice him.

Gan Ning stood on the deck of the ship, the sea breeze blowing his scarlet cloak. He squinted his eyes and looked at the looming black spot in the distance, with a grim smile on his lips.

“Full speed ahead!”

As the command flag was waved, the warships of the Tang Navy cut through the waves and chased the fleeing merchant ships like arrows. Shi Xie stood at the stern, looking at the approaching pursuers, his face as gloomy as water.

"Father, they are catching up with us!" Shi Hui clenched his sword, his voice filled with despair.

Shi Xie did not answer, but stared at the "Tang" flag on the leading warship. Suddenly, he turned around and dragged out a wooden box from the cabin, opened the lid, and found a full kerosene can inside.

"Since we can't escape, let's die together!"

The old Shi Xie burst out with amazing strength and smashed the kerosene tank onto the deck. When Gan Ning's warship approached, flames suddenly rose from the enemy ship.

“Shoot! Don’t let them jump off the boat!”

Gan Ning gave an order, and countless arrows whizzed out. As soon as Shi Hui rushed to the side of the ship, he was pierced through the chest by three crossbow arrows and fell into the sea. Shi Xie laughed wildly in the fire, waving his burning robe, and was about to jump onto the Tang army warship.

"court death!"

Gan Ning picked up the iron halberd and leaped into the air. With a flash of cold light, Shi Xie's head flew high up and fell into the waves. The burning merchant ship slowly sank, and charred wooden boards and corpses floated on the sea.

The Shi family, which had dominated Jiaozhou for decades, was completely destroyed in the South China Sea.

Huang Zhong and Sima Yi, who received the news, quickly wrote a report and sent someone to send it back to Chang'an. Tens of thousands of troops began to clear Jiaozhou, attack mountain bandits, and wipe out wealthy families. More importantly, they sent people to spy on the territories south and west of Jiuzhen and Rinnan. Qin Feng crossed the Changshan Mountains and entered Changming and other places.

If nothing unexpected happens, the Tang Dynasty will obtain a large amount of territory from there, and then grant these territories to meritorious officials as fiefs. The fiefs of Huang Zhong, Sima Yi and others will also be there.

The morning mist of the South China Sea was like a veil, covering Jiaozhi City, which had just experienced the baptism of war. On the city wall, the flag of the Tang Dynasty fluttered gently in the breeze, as if announcing that the land had changed hands.

Sima Yi stood on the city wall, his snow-white robe slightly wet by the morning dew. His slender fingers gently tapped the city wall, but his eyes were cast towards the sea in the southeast. There, Gan Ning's navy should have begun to return.

"Zhongda, what are you thinking about?"

Huang Zhong's deep voice came from behind. Although the old general was over sixty years old, his steps were still steady, and his armor made a slight metallic clanging sound as he walked.

Now that Jiaozhou had been taken, Huang Zhong was in a very happy mood.

“The gentlemen in Chang’an must be very happy to have Jiaozhou pacified.” Sima Yi chuckled.

(End of this chapter)