Taiheiki

Chapter 128 Poisoning
Guo Kui squatted on a rooftop not far away, overlooking the entire assassination scene. As Wei Cong's representative, he didn't need to participate in the battle himself, but only needed to witness the entire battle process with his own eyes to confirm Wu Ze and the others' achievements to Wei Cong.

Most of the sun had already set below the city wall. The autumn wind was cold. Guo Kui could hear the creaking of a window that was not closed tightly not far away. The evening air was filled with the smell of dust and blood. Arrows pierced the air and nailed into the walls. Some shot through the windows on the roadside, and screams were heard from inside the house.

Liu Fen's guards reacted quickly, quickly closing in on each other to form an irregular circle, protecting Liu Fen while simultaneously firing arrows at the attackers. From time to time, men fell, but were quickly replaced. Their counterattacks were effective. These men from Youzhou were all skilled archers. Guo Kui witnessed an assassin attempting to approach from a rooftop being struck by two arrows simultaneously and thrown from the roof.

"Should we retreat?" Guo Kui looked anxiously in the direction of the county government office, hesitating whether to do anything. At this moment, there was a commotion among the crowd surrounding Liu Fen, and someone exclaimed, "The county magistrate is injured!"

"It's okay, it's just an arrow!" A voice in the crowd shouted, so loud that Guo Kui could hear it clearly: "Everyone, don't panic, hold on a little longer, reinforcements will be here!"

Liu Fen's shout seemed to be a signal, and the attackers scattered and retreated. Almost at the same time, the last ray of sunset fell into the abyss, and darkness began to gradually cover the earth. Guo Kui moved his body carefully and slowly climbed down from the roof.

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"Uncle, are you okay?" Liu An held Liu Fen's arms and asked in panic.

"It's okay, it's just a scrape on the arm. The Liangdang armor can't cover that area!" Liu Fen said with a smile: "Count the manpower, don't leave behind the injured and dead brothers!"

"Hmm!" Liu An carefully examined his uncle's body, confirming that there was only an arrow wound on his left arm. He breathed a sigh of relief and gritted his teeth, saying, "Uncle, don't worry. Tomorrow morning, I'll search the entire city and skin all those assassins and hang them from the trees!"

"Let's go back to the county government office first!" Liu Fen looked a little tired. He covered his arm. Liu An thought that his uncle was feeling cold due to blood loss, so he took off his cloak and wrapped it around Liu Fen, then ordered the guards to return to the county government office.

Liu An had just returned to the county government office. While arranging for his uncle to go back to his room and recuperate, he sent for a doctor. He then gathered his men and ordered them to be on guard tonight, lest the assassins, desperate enough to set fire or commit other acts that night, suddenly arrived with a frightened maidservant shouting, "Liu the thief, Liu the thief!"

"what's up?"

"The county lord is in a bad condition. The doctor asked me to ask you to come and see him!"

"What?" Liu An was anxious when he heard this. He hurried into his uncle's bedroom and saw Liu Fen lying on the bed, his eyes slightly closed, his expression dim. The doctor beside him was busy with something with his head lowered. He hurriedly asked, "Doctor, what happened to my uncle?"

"Look!" The doctor stood up and made way. Liu An took a step forward and saw that Liu Fen's right arm was swollen, her face was black, and beads of sweat the size of soybeans were rolling down her forehead.

"What, what's going on?"

"The County Master was hit by a poisoned arrow!" the doctor sighed. "It was a poisoned arrow shot by the mountain barbarians during hunting. Nine out of ten people who are hit by such a poisoned arrow will die!"

"What?" Liu An felt as if a bolt of lightning struck his head from the blue sky. His body swayed and he almost fell to the ground. He grabbed the doctor and asked, "Are you sure?"

"I can't be wrong!" The doctor said with a wry smile, "I've been practicing medicine here for three generations. I've seen countless people shot by the poisonous arrows of the mountain beastmen. How could I be wrong?"

"Damn the assassin! He actually used a poisoned arrow to injure someone!" Liu An spat and asked the doctor, "Is there any medical treatment available?"

"I can't say I know the art of treatment!" the doctor replied. "I have a family antidote, but the poison of the mountain fang arrows is extremely toxic. Whether or not the patient can survive it depends on his fate!"

"Destiny? What does it mean?" Liu An asked in confusion.

"Even after being struck by the same poison arrow and taking the same medicine, some people survive while others die. This is fate!" the doctor sighed. "Doctors can only cure illnesses, not lives! Ultimately, whether the county magistrate can survive depends solely on his own fate!"

"Don't worry, my uncle is incredibly tough!" Liu An said proudly. "He and a dozen of his colleagues were trapped in a shelter by hundreds of Xianbei people for over a month. With no food or water, he gnawed on his belt and licked the dew, forcing himself to hold out for nearly two months. He only managed to escape when reinforcements arrived and broke the siege. He was the only one of his companions who survived! He's sure to survive!"

"I hope so!" the doctor sighed. "That's all we can hope for!"

"Your Excellency, Your Excellency!" A sudden, urgent shout came from outside. Liu An frowned, nodded to the doctor, turned and walked out, closing the door behind him. He shouted to the visitor, "What's going on? Why are you making such a fuss? How can you be so rude? Just tell me what's going on. No need to make a fuss!"

The visitor, knowing that the county magistrate was very kind to his nephew, hurriedly said, "Thief, something terrible has happened! Go to the top of the city wall and take a look! There are so many boats on the Gan River! They're completely filling up the river!"

"What?" Liu An was anxious: "Let's go and take a look!"

Liu An climbed the city wall. Dark clouds obscured the stars and a slender crescent moon, leaving the ramparts dark and shadowy. But from that point, everything was visible: a dense patchwork of lights on the distant river. He tried to count them, but quickly gave up the futile effort. What the hell? Could these be the ones who took Luling County? Could the assassination just now be connected to these uninvited guests? The thought sent a sudden chill down Liu An's spine.

Liu An felt his legs twitching as he walked down the city wall. If the flames on the river represented a boat, it would be an army, a real army. He knew in his heart that such an army was definitely not something that the two thousand newly recruited soldiers inside the city wall could contend with. The group of knights brought by his uncle from Youzhou could fight to the last man, but their number was too small. Two fists could not defeat four hands. Even King Xiang could not defeat the majority with a small number of people.

"Perhaps I should escape!" Liu An told himself. The knights of Youzhou were known for their archery and horsemanship, not for defending a city. But then he remembered his uncle's injuries and sighed. His father had died young, and his uncle had raised him. They were uncle and nephew in name, but in reality, they were like father and son. If he abandoned his uncle and fled alone, what difference would he make from an animal?
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Wei Cong stood on the deck and took a deep breath. The air filled with the smell of water immediately filled his lungs. He sneezed comfortably and said to Huang Ping, "It seems that we came at the wrong time!"

"Maybe!" Huang Ping smiled. "I suggest mooring the boat on the other side to prevent the thieves from setting fire at night!" "You're right!" Wei Cong nodded in satisfaction. Compared to Diwu Deng and Liu Jiu, Huang Ping's thoughts were much more thorough. "After dawn tomorrow, you go and notify the defenders, tell them who we are, and offer us your terms. It would be best if we can take this place without bloodshed!"

"I'll remember this!" Huang Ping nodded. "I'm sure it will be a sleepless night in the city tonight!"

"Yes!" Wei Cong sighed, looking at the city of Gan County on the other side of the river. "Sun Tzu said: 'To conquer the enemy without fighting is the best of all virtues!'"

Late at night, county government office.

"Have Gongcao, Tingyuan, and Zhubu arrived?" Liu An asked nervously.

"Gongcao has just arrived, Tingyuan and Zhubu are still at home, so it will probably be a while!" the subordinate replied.

"Damn it, these rats, they retreat into their holes when encountering problems!" Liu An said angrily. Unlike Liu Fen, an out-of-town official, according to the laws of the Han Dynasty, officials such as Gongcao, Tingyuan, and Zhubu usually came from powerful families in the county. In normal times, they would naturally follow the orders of the county magistrate Liu Fen. But at the critical moment when the bandits were in chaos and the strong invaders were approaching the city, the attitudes of these officials who had complex local forces behind them became ambiguous. In other words, the volunteer army of about 2,000 people, mainly composed of local people, became less determined.

"Liu the thief!" Gongcao came in and bowed to Liu An. "How are you, the county lord?"

Liu An replied reluctantly, "The poison in the enemy's arrow is extremely deadly. The doctor has already prescribed an antidote for my uncle, but he's still unconscious!"

"Auspicious people are blessed by heaven. The county lord will surely turn the crisis into safety!" The Gongcao sighed, "Since the county lord is unable to manage the affairs, then please ask the county magistrate to come and discuss how to deal with it together!"

According to the Eastern Han Dynasty official system, counties with more than 10,000 households were to have a county magistrate, with a rank of 1,000 stones; a county clerk, who was in charge of civil affairs, paperwork, and warehouses; and two county lieutenants, who were in charge of public security. Gan County currently had no county lieutenant. The county clerk was the magistrate's deputy. When the county magistrate was able to perform his duties normally, the county clerk generally had little presence, just a rubber stamp, waiting to receive orders. The county clerk in Gan County was no exception. So much so that after his uncle was shot by a poisoned arrow, Liu An forgot to look for this invisible person for a moment. Only after the Gong Cao reminded him did he react: "Yes, then I will send someone to invite him immediately!"

"No need. The court official and the chief clerk have already gone to invite the county magistrate. They will be here soon! We will just wait here!" Gongcao said with a smile.

"Okay, okay!" Although Liu An felt something was wrong, he didn't know what to do for a moment, so he had to respond.

As the Gongcao had predicted, a moment later the county magistrate arrived, accompanied by court officials and chief clerks. He turned to Liu An and asked, "How is your uncle now?"

"He has taken the medicine, but he is still unconscious!" Liu An replied.

"Take me to see it!"

"Yes!" Liu An responded, and led the county magistrate, Gongcao, Tingyuan, and Zhubu to Liu Fen's residence in the back court. They visited Liu Fen for a moment and then left. The county magistrate asked bluntly, "Liu Zecao, how did the county magistrate become like this?"

Liu An recounted the story of his uncle's assassination, and concluded, "After daybreak, I will search the city to capture the assassin and execute him by skinning him alive!"

"Stupid!" The county magistrate waved his hand in annoyance. "Liu, you thief, don't you know there's already a large army outside the city? Our top priority right now is to deal with the army outside and save the lives of the people in the city, not to capture some assassin!"

Liu An was completely bewildered by the county magistrate: "But, but if we can't catch the thieves in the city, we can't defend the city with peace of mind!"

"Confused!" The county magistrate waved his hand and said, "Master, explain the whole story to Liu Zecao."

"Yes!" the Chief Clerk responded with a smile, "Liu the Thief, you should be well aware of the situation in the city. With only two thousand newly recruited soldiers, we can't possibly help. And the army outside is coming in with all the force it can muster. Xingan is the seat of the Southern Commandery, and Luling is a larger county. Both are more heavily guarded than this city, and both have more soldiers. Yet, those two cities didn't hold out for more than a few days. This shows the formidable force outside is far too powerful for a mere city like ours to withstand. So, why force our way in, only to end up with nothing but devastation and destruction?"

Liu An, upon hearing this, understood what the Chief Clerk meant and flew into a rage, "Chief Clerk, you are receiving a salary from the imperial court, yet you actually want to surrender to the enemy!"

"Shut up!" the county magistrate shouted. "What do you mean by surrendering to the enemy? We are simply acting with caution to avoid causing great suffering to the people of the city. You, a mere thief, dare to be so disrespectful in front of your superiors. What is your punishment?"

Liu An was so angry at the county magistrate that he was dumbfounded and speechless, but he heard the county magistrate continue: "Also, the county magistrate was attacked and injured, and you, as a thief officer, are guilty of protecting him. For the sake of your uncle, I will only remove you from your position as thief officer. Go and take good care of your uncle. There is no need to say anything else!"

As he was speaking, an official came forward to take away Liu An's seal and ribbon. Liu An was stunned with anger, but he did not dare to resist. After all, according to the laws of the Han Dynasty, if a county magistrate was unable to hold office due to injury, illness or being kidnapped by thieves, the county magistrate would automatically take over the power of the county magistrate. If he dared to resist, the other party would immediately use force to capture him or even behead him. With the chief clerk and others testifying on the spot, his death would be in vain.

The county magistrate had Liu An's seal and ribbon taken away, and then had the chief clerk fetch Liu Fen's seal and ribbon, hanging them around his waist. He said with a smile, "This nephew of County Magistrate Liu has a bad temper. It's okay on ordinary days, but at a time like this, if we let him do whatever he wants, it will only harm the people of the city!"

"Your Excellency is right!" the Chief Clerk said with a smile, "Even if the County Magistrate were to wake up again, he would have nothing to say!"

"Let's not talk about that guy anymore. He was hit by a poisoned arrow from a mountain beast and will most likely die!" The court official said coldly, "The most important thing is to send someone to contact the army outside the city at dawn tomorrow. This is the most important thing! If we don't dare to fight, it will be in no good for anyone!"

"That's right!" The county magistrate's eyes swept over the three people's faces, finally stopping at Gongcao's face: "Then I'll trouble you with this matter!"

(End of this chapter)