Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 169: Falling into a trap
County government meeting hall.

Outside, it was raining heavily. Unlike the continuous rain in the previous period, today's rain seemed so refreshing and heroic, as if it was making an announcement to the world to welcome the arrival of the Grain Rain solar term.

All the commanders of the Anmin Army gathered here, and everyone's face was filled with excitement and joy.

"Just as we expected! Zhang Jiao led his army to attack Luoyang, but the plot was exposed and the traitor was arrested, so the situation became stalemate. Four days ago, he was finally defeated by the imperial army and led the remnants to escape back to Jizhou!"

"However, the Taiping Dao has a huge influence in many states and counties across the country, and there are still suffering people from all over the country who respond to their uprising to resist the government. Now, even though Zhang Jue was defeated in the first battle, the Taiping Army has captured dozens of cities of our Han Dynasty. There are more than a million people who have responded to the uprising, and the court is also panicked."

Cui Jun said happily: "Everything that the lord had predicted before has now come true!"

A few days ago, Cui Jun was still a little worried, but now after hearing the news, it seems that his parents and family members should be fine, so he completely put down the heavy stone in his heart.

Cheng Liang shouted excitedly, "Great! Although Zhang Jue is not a good person, he deceived the people and made the old, weak, women and children fight for his dream of becoming emperor. He didn't even give them food and taught them to plunder everywhere. It's really abominable. He deserves to be defeated! But it's also right to teach this damn court a lesson, haha!"

Cheng Liang hated evil the most, and had no good impression of either Zhang Jue or the current imperial government. Naturally, he was very happy to see them fighting to a loss on both sides.

Liu He smiled and said, “It’s more than that.”

When everyone heard what was going on, they pricked up their ears.

Liu He raised the roll of cloth in his hand.

"This is the imperial decree that just came from the prefectural governor's office. Your Majesty has appointed He Jin as the general and ordered him to lead the left and right Yulin troops to garrison Luoyang. He has also ordered Huangfu Song, Lu Zhi, and Zhu Jun to lead their armies to quell the rebellion. At the same time, he has announced a general amnesty for the rebellionists and has recruited horses, food, and military equipment from the nobles throughout the country."

Liu He paused, glanced at everyone, and then spoke slowly.

"The most important one: The imperial court has specially ordered all states, counties, and prefectures to recruit soldiers and food on their own to resist the rebels and make contributions in their local areas!"

Guan Yu and others were stunned when they heard this, and then they were overjoyed!

"Great! From now on, it will be the day for us, the Anmin Army, to spread our wings and soar to great heights!"

Liu He couldn't hide his excitement!
Although the Anmin Army has 3,000 soldiers, it is still beyond the limit for a county. The imperial court has requirements on the number of county soldiers, ranging from a few hundred to more than a thousand. Although the imperial court's control over local areas is weak nowadays and this regulation is almost equivalent to waste paper, it still needs to be taken into consideration.

Therefore, he had never really recruited soldiers openly. Most of the Anmin Army were refugees from all over the place who found it difficult to make a living and came to join on their own, or local young and strong villagers who came because of his reputation. He even repeatedly adjusted the screening standards to become more and more stringent.

But things are different now. Once this edict is issued, he will no longer have to worry about his future military operations. In the past, he was limited to guarding against foreign enemies locally, but now he can expand the army and take the initiative to attack surrounding areas in the name of "suppressing rebellion"!

Liu He suppressed his excitement and cleared his throat.

"I believe that the military advisor and all of you brothers can guess the purpose of inviting you to discuss matters today, right?"

Cui Jun replied: "I guess the lord is preparing to attack Yu County?"

"Military Advisor is right! We have come from the countryside and gradually made it to where we are today. The Anmin Army started as a militia of a few hundred people and has become as powerful as it is today. It can be said that we have been dormant for a long time!"

Guan Yu's face seemed to have turned even redder, and he said, "Brother and sister-in-law agreed on the strategy of 'staying the same in the face of ever-changing circumstances', defending the land and the people, accumulating strength, and waiting for changes in the world. Now we have finally waited for this day!" "Brother, tell me what to do! As long as you give the order, I will be the vanguard and use these two hammers to smash out a piece of sky for you, haha!"

Liu He laughed and pointed at Zhang Yong.

"The plan to capture Yu County has already been arranged. Whether it can be successful in one fell swoop depends on Fourth Brother."

Guan Yu and others didn't know that Liu He had already made arrangements. When they heard this, they all looked at Zhang Yong with curiosity.

Zhang Yong stood up, walked to the middle of the hall, bowed to Liu He, and then began to speak.

"Back then, that old villain Yan Chi persuaded all the powerful families in the city to conspire against my brother, but we defeated them in one fell swoop. One of them was the Hong family, which has a three-generation marriage relationship with the Gao family, the number one family in Yu County. I'm sure the military advisor and all of you brothers remember it, right?"

Guan Yu stroked his beard and nodded, "I remember this, too. That fellow was very arrogant, but now they are all in prison, so what use can they make?"

Zhang Yong smiled and said, "This is the plan of the military advisor and my elder brother. I sent someone to find out. Gao Mang is indeed the county lieutenant of Yu County. After the county magistrate Geng was framed and killed by him, most of the Geng family's property was taken away by the Gao family, and Gao Mang actually controlled the military and political power of Yu County. I didn't do anything else, but forced the head of the Hong family to write a letter for help to Gao Mang two days ago."

Guan Yu and others looked confused.

"A letter for help? What's it about?"

Zhang Yong explained, "It's very simple. It's about how they opposed Big Brother, but were defeated by him. Now their lives are at stake. They bribed the jailer to send this letter for help, hoping that Gao Mang would come to rescue them because of their decades of marriage. In addition, they also said that he found out the truth about Gao Mian's death, but it was actually a secret frame-up by our Anmin Army."

"We have the seal of the Taiping Dao brought by Yan Chi, the letters he sent to the heads of the families beforehand, and the confessions signed by these spineless people afterwards. If Gao Mang wants to come to rescue us, he will definitely bring troops with him. Whether he uses force to suppress others or forcibly attacks the city, we can say that he is colluding with the traitors and plotting a rebellion. At that time, we can execute him on the spot, which is also in accordance with the laws of the country. In this way, won't Yu County be captured easily?"

Guan Yu had always looked down upon these so-called powerful men, so at this moment he had doubts about Gao Mang's courage and the so-called in-law relationship.

"But we are right next door to Yu County. It has been many days since our Anmin Army fought against the Yellow Turban Army led by Wu Lu. He must still know that we have incorporated thousands of Yellow Turban Army. With our current military strength, does he really have the courage to do this?"

At this time Liu He spoke.

"Don't worry, Yunchang. Gao Mang's temperament was not stable to begin with, and now that he is in power, his power has doubled, and he has become even more arrogant, not to mention the hatred of the murder of his sons and nephews. Moreover, the letter of help sent to him deliberately belittled the strength of our army, saying that we were just bluffing. In fact, after two major wars, the military strength has long been weakened. Gao Mang must be thinking that he has been recuperating for a long time and looks down on us."

Guan Yu and others suddenly understood.

"Brother and military advisor, you are so smart. Let's just wait for Gao Mang to die on his own. Haha!"

As a few people were chatting and laughing, someone suddenly came to the door to report.

"Report! Outside the east gate, a group of two thousand people suddenly arrived! The leader claimed to be the county lieutenant of Yu County and came to ask for justice from County Magistrate Liu."

When everyone heard this, they were not surprised but happy.

"Haha, this thief has really walked into the trap. Let's go to the tower and take a look!"

(End of this chapter)