Taiheiki

Chapter 133 Inn
"Yes, Governor Yu's wife, two children, and younger brother are all in the inn!" Yuan Tian said in a deep voice.

"Good, you did a good job!" Wei Cong laughed. His luck was really good. Since entering Lingnan, he had been sailing down the Zhenshui River and Beijiang River, taking all the garrison soldiers and horses he met along the way. At this time, he had more than 17,000 people, more than 4,000 horses and mules, and more than 400 large and small ships under his command. It took only four days to reach Zhongsu County, which would be considered a suburb of Guangzhou two thousand years later. It can be said that he was unstoppable.

Considering that Panyu at the time didn't even have a proper city wall (after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent troops to destroy the Nanyue Kingdom, he completely destroyed Panyu City and the Nanyue Royal Palace. However, Panyu City's advantageous geographical location allowed the local population and commercial activities to recover quickly. However, the city wall was not built until the 217nd year of Jian'an () when Bu Zhi, the Eastern Han Dynasty Jiaozhou Governor, moved the Jiaozhou government from Guangxin (now Wuzhou, Guangxi) back to Guangzhou and rebuilt the city wall, which is the famous Bu Zhi City), it was actually a bare city, which was within easy reach. I didn't expect to meet the family of the Rinan prefect here. It really is a blessing in disguise!

The widowed innkeeper was already kneeling in the mud at the door, trembling all over. Everyone knew that after a large army passed through, the ground would be covered with thorns. She had been running this inn for three generations, and this was the first time such a large army had passed through. She hoped she could keep the house! She didn't dare to think of anything else.

"Get up! The ground is covered in mud and water!" Wei Cong gestured. "Prepare as much food as possible, including ginger soup. The more the better. Give each person a large bowl. Keep the fire burning so my people can dry their clothes. Clear out the rooms and lay straw in the living room for my people to rest! Come on!" As he spoke, he took a small deerskin bag from the servant and tossed it to the widowed innkeeper. "These are for the expenses, possible damage, and compensation for the guests who vacated the house. I don't want people to say I'm a bully!"

"Yes, sir!" The proprietress took the pocket. She didn't dare to argue much. She stood up and stepped aside. After seeing Wei Cong leave, she carefully opened the pocket. Her breathing suddenly stopped - there were no copper coins in the pocket, but gold nuggets of various sizes, which flashed temptingly under the torch.

"Madam, Master Yu!" Wei Cong handed his wet robe to the guard, bowed slightly to Liu and Yu Wen, and smiled: "What an unexpected surprise. Please forgive my impoliteness!"

"Why do you say that, Captain Wei?" Liu smiled and said, "After the Fifth Commander learned of my identity, he asked Yuan Dubo to escort us. He was truly a great favor to us. When we arrive in Panyu, I will definitely mention this in my letter to my husband and have him thank Captain Wei!"

"Hahaha!" Wei Cong was stunned when he heard this, then he laughed: "Thank you very much, ma'am. After I arrive in Panyu, I will transfer to Jiuzhen County. Why don't you let me take the letter for you!"

"Then I'll trouble you, Captain!" Liu's smile was a bit forced. More and more guards walked into the inn. At this distance, she could clearly see their armor and the murderous aura that only veterans who had experienced the battlefield had. The unfathomable smile on the face of the man in front of her made her unable to figure out his depth. Was he really just a captain with a miscellaneous title?
"Excuse me, who recommended the position of Wei Jun's Rebellion Suppression Captain?" Liu asked carefully.

"It's Feng Cheqi!"

"General Feng Gun?"

"Not bad!"

"I see!" Liu's doubts faded considerably. She glanced around and said with a smile, "Don't blame me, Captain Wei. I'm a little ignorant and have never seen a Tiger Guard with such fine armor, so I asked a few more questions!"

"Thank you for the compliment, Madam!" Wei Cong said with a smile, "I have been ordered by General Feng to assist Jiaozhou, so I naturally have to do my best. Therefore, I used my own money to buy armor and weapons for my subordinates. I am sorry to have embarrassed you, Madam!"

At this time, the innkeeper brought up the food. Wei Cong apologized to Liu and began to eat. Liu took the opportunity to apologize and stood up to go back to her room on the second floor. Yu Wen hurriedly stood up to see her off. When they reached the door, Liu stopped and said to Yu Wen, "This Wei Cong is unfathomable. You must be careful when dealing with him. Don't get involved. Not only will he harm us, but also your husband and your family!"

Yu Wen whispered, "Don't worry, sister-in-law. I'll remember this!"

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Wei Cong didn't rest immediately after dinner. As the commander-in-chief of an army, he still had much to attend to. Most of his vast, diverse army had joined only in the past month or two, or even a dozen days. It's easy to imagine that such a ragtag group would crumble and disintegrate without a fight if they suffered defeat, or even the slightest setback or delay. On the other hand, if they could consistently achieve stunning victories, these once doubtful, wavering, passive, and ever-ready to flee or defect could quickly transform into the most determined and tenacious fighters. Such examples are numerous throughout history.

Soldiers may be the most superstitious people in the world. As long as the general can lead them to victory all the time, all the general's shortcomings are not shortcomings. If the general can also generously share the spoils with the soldiers, he is simply a saint in the world, half human and half god. They are willing to follow this general to the ends of the earth and make enemies with the whole world.

Therefore, for Wei Cong, the most important thing right now was to achieve victory, the faster the better, the more numerous the better. Therefore, he assigned his most elite and trustworthy 1,000 men to Diwudeng as the vanguard. This way, they could march at maximum speed, not giving the Nanhai prefect in Panyu time to react; it also prevented his large and diverse ragtag force from collapsing without a fight due to a minor setback.

Simply put, Wei Cong intended to lead the majority of the army on a victory march, leaving the fighting to the battle-tested veterans. The detailed reorganization and training could wait until Panyu was captured. By then, the morale and loyalty of these new recruits would have been boosted by the victory and the rich spoils of war, making any task more effective.

"Captain!" Yuan Tian bowed.

"Yes!" Wei Cong nodded. "Yuan Tian, I'll give you a hundred men. From now on, you will guard the family of Yu Taishou. Don't let them get harmed, and don't let them escape!"

Yuan Tian pondered for a moment and replied, "Captain, after Governor Yu's family goes to Panyu, they plan to return to Kuaiji County by sea!"

"I have my own way!" Wei Cong raised his head. "Just take good care of them. Remember, they're not prisoners, they're my guests. You're their guard, not a prison guard. Do you understand?" "Captain, are you planning to place Prefect Yu's family under house arrest?" Yuan Tian asked. "Is that correct?"

"There's only softness, no restrictions!" Wei Cong laughed. "There's going to be war in Nanhai County, and there's going to be unrest everywhere. Although I've never met Governor Yu, we're colleagues at court. If anything happens to his family, how can I face him? Do you understand what I mean?"

"I understand!" Yuan Tian bowed his head in sincere admiration. He had to admit that the man's position was no fluke. God had sent such a figure into the world to accomplish great things. Perhaps his encounter with him and his position as his subordinate after his murder and escape to Yuzhang was also destined. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but stop and look to the north. A few stars shone faintly in the cloud-covered sky.

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Panyu, Water Gate.

Though the distance made it difficult to discern the pattern on the flag, the guard could still discern through the hazy mist that it was a red banner, the flag of the Han army. The darker center likely held a pattern or text. This brought a sigh of relief to the guard, who bowed his head in gratitude. This was truly good news. To combat the rebellions in Jiuzhang and Rinan Commanderies, the Jiaozhou governor had already siphoned off nearly all available troops from Nanhai Commandery. While remote Lingnan was far more peaceful than the inland counties, bandits and pirates still abounded. The governor had repeatedly requested reinforcements from the imperial court, and now, at last, they had received them.

"Du Bo, Du Bo!" the guard on the watchtower shouted to those below, "The army has arrived! They must be reinforcements coming to Panyu!"

"You're not seeing things, you brat!" Du Bo, wearing only a single layer of clothing, poked his head out. He yawned through sleepy eyes and looked impatiently at the guard on the watchtower: "I don't remember receiving any documents saying reinforcements were coming!"

"If you don't believe me, come up and see for yourself!" The guard was a seasoned veteran, and he wasn't afraid of Du Bo. "Chiqi, do you hear the sound of horse hooves? There are quite a few soldiers!"

Du Bo listened carefully. The guard was right. He could hear the rumbling of horses' hooves and the sound of oars on the water. This was an advance by land and water. He hadn't seen such a large army in a long time. He shouted, "Quick, beat the drums, lazybones! Get up!"

While Du Bo at the water gate was busily rushing his soldiers off their bunks, Diwu Deng stood on the deck, gazing at the water gate with interest. When Ren Xiao, the prefect of Nanhai County in the Qin Dynasty, built Panyu City, he chose a high hill at the foot of Fan Mountain, facing a tributary of the Pearl River. The later capital of the Nanyue Kingdom and Panyu during the Han Dynasty were both built around this hill.

Although the Han army later destroyed most of the buildings and city walls of the Nanyue Kingdom's capital, they preserved several local water gates. These huge gates can be lowered and raised with the rise and fall of the Pearl River tide, ensuring water supply for the city while preventing it from being flooded. They can also be used for shipping and irrigation. They can be said to be the crystallization of the diligence and wisdom of the ancient Chinese people.

Because the Pearl River Delta, where Panyu City was located, was crisscrossed with rivers and filled with numerous harbors and wetlands, although Panyu City lacked city walls, in reality, if you didn't have ships, attacking the city by land would have required crossing several river branches, which was very difficult. On the other hand, if you took the water route, you would have had to pass through several water gates. This is why, for hundreds of years during the Han Dynasty, Panyu City, despite being the seat of a prefectural governor, with nearly 20,000 households, flourishing overseas trade, and extremely wealthy, didn't even have a decent city wall. The reason was that the existing defenses were sufficient to deal with ordinary bandits and pirates; however, the city's geographical location was too advantageous, and as the former capital of the Nanyue Kingdom, it had abundant financial resources through overseas trade. If a city wall was built, it would easily become a nest for local separatist forces, so it was simply demolished.

"Is it only by seizing this water gate that the fleet can enter the inland river and dock at the edge of Panyu City?" Diwu Deng asked the guide.

"That's right!" The guide was a middle-aged man of about thirty-four or thirty-five, named Wang Gai. He was originally a merchant traveling between Xuwen and Shaoguan. He was very familiar with the roads between Nanhai and Hepu. After being caught by the scouts of the Fifth Deng on the way, he became the guide of the Fifth Deng for the generous reward promised by the Fifth Deng.

"This water gate doesn't look very big. There shouldn't be many soldiers guarding it, right?" asked the Fifth Deng.

"You're right, young master. This water gate is usually guarded by only a hundred or so men, most of whom are old and weak, just doing their job!" Wang Gai laughed. "But this gate is very heavy, far beyond human power. It requires a mechanical mechanism pulled by more than ten strong oxen. If the guards destroy the mechanism in a hurry, even if we had thousands of men, there would be nothing we could do!"

"Is that so?" Diwu Deng looked at the gate not far away. It was a large blur in the mist, making it look particularly magnificent. He nodded and said, "Well, thanks to you for not using force. Otherwise, it would have been a disaster. Come here!" He took the bag from the hand of a nearby attendant, pulled out two gold horseshoes, and tossed them to Wang Gai. "This is a reward for you. Lead the way well, and you will enjoy endless wealth and honor!"

Wang Gai was overjoyed and quickly picked up the horseshoe gold and put it in his arms, kowtowed repeatedly and said, "Thank you, Captain, thank you for your reward! I will do my best to serve you!"

At this time, the rumbling sound of drums came from the water gate. Diwu Deng heard it and laughed: "It seems that they have discovered us. No problem, Qian Wen! Go and inform the guards and see if you can get them to raise the gate and let our ship in without a fight!"

"As you command!" Qian Wen responded, and just as he was about to step forward, he heard Diwudeng shout, "Wait a minute! Let Zhebie go with you. If that guy opens the sluice gate obediently, then we'll do it. Otherwise, let Zhebie shoot him dead with an arrow and seize the sluice gate while the chaos is going on!"

"Yes!" Qian Wen responded, and a man emerged from behind Diwudeng. It was none other than Zhebie. Everyone had heard of him, having shot down an enemy general with a single arrow during the attack on Xingan County, earning him the title of "Eagle Shooter" by Wei Cong. Many had only heard of him, never seen him in person. Hearing the name "Zhebie," their eyes instantly focused on him. He was of medium build, with tattoos on both cheeks and a simple demeanor. Aside from his unusually long arms, which almost reached his knees, there wasn't anything unusual about him.

(End of this chapter)