Taiheiki

Chapter 144 Brothers
At this time, the black-armored cavalry had already broken through the enemy's ranks. They moved straight forward like a battering ram. No one dared to stand in front of them. They did not slow down until they had broken through the enemy's line and rushed out dozens of steps. They reorganized their team and turned back, preparing to strike the enemy again from behind.

The Wei army's archers in the front began firing as ordered. Arrows soared into the sky, reaching their highest point before plummeting downwards, landing on top of Shi Xie's army. Screams and wails filled the air, and men continued to fall. Some tried to hide behind shields, but many more fled aimlessly, searching for safety. A drawn-out horn blast ended the archers' firing, and three horizontal rows of spears pressed down on Shi Xie's army. Some of Shi Xie's men put up a desperate resistance, only to be pierced, crushed, and overwhelmed by the spearmen. While Shi Xie's army might have had the advantage in numbers, the attackers had armored armor and cavalry attacking from behind.

In the center of the battlefield, Shi Xie stood tall in his stirrups, his cloak and partially covered armor making him striking. He raised his sword, and his men gathered in a circle. He fought desperately, shouting loudly, trying to stop the fleeing soldiers and put up a desperate resistance. The black-armored knights, arranged in a wedge, charged forward, wielding lances, ring-handled swords, and bone-wielding spears. Wei Cong watched as the enemy commander's horse reared, its hooves kicking wildly. A foot soldier pierced his mount's chest with a spear, and he was thrown from his horse. The circle quickly collapsed and was destroyed.

"It's over!" Wei Cong shook his head, a bit dully. Before his eyes, the enemy collapsed. Soldiers dropped their weapons and armor and took flight. Groups of people were killed from behind, and no one even turned back to resist. Many more dropped their weapons and knelt by the roadside, begging for mercy from the victors. Flames rose from the baggage train, and the howling of terrified livestock almost drowned out the shouts of killing.

"Arden!" Wei Cong said.

"I'm here!" Diwu Deng's face flushed with excitement. "Captain, what a great victory! A great victory!"

"Yes, now that the situation here is settled, I'll leave it to you. I'll return to the camp immediately!" Wei Cong said, "After this is over, send a messenger as fast as he can, holding a proclamation high, to Panyu. After cleaning up the battlefield, escort the captured flags and high-ranking prisoners to Panyu and hand them over to Prefect Kong!"

"Leave it to Kong Gui?" Diwu Deng was stunned.

"Yes, leave it to him!" Wei Cong nodded. "Take a message to Prefect Kong for me. Tell him that we are all Han officials, but due to some misunderstanding, we have come to blows. Although I am victorious, I am not happy. I have long heard that the prefect is a kind and generous gentleman. Please ask him to deal with these prisoners for me. As long as they have not done any evil, he will release them for me!"

"Captain!" Diwu Deng said anxiously, "These are mortal enemies captured by our soldiers at the cost of their lives. How can we just let them go like this? Even if we do let them go, why should Kong Gui do this favor? Can't you do it yourself?"

"Time is running out. I'll explain it to you when you get back to camp!" Wei Cong jumped on his horse and said to Diwu Deng, "Remember, be extremely careful when you return. I don't want to win here only to lose on the way back!"

"Yes!" Although Diwu Deng was a little reluctant, he still lowered his head honestly.

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Panyu, the prefectural government.

"Teacher, do you want to see me?" Shi Wu walked quickly into the room, his young face full of vitality.

"Sit down first!" Kong Gui pointed to the cushion on his left. His face was full of worry. Shi Wu immediately noticed this and lowered his voice: "What's wrong? Is there something wrong?"

Kong Gui did not answer the student's question immediately. He signaled the servants to leave and closed the doors and windows himself. Then he asked Shi Wu seriously, "I'm asking you, Ji An, you must answer me honestly!"

"Don't worry, teacher. I will answer any questions you ask truthfully!" Shi Wu replied.

"Okay, let me ask you, have you been secretly contacting your brother during this time? Discussing a plan for him to lead his troops in a detour and attack Panyu?"

"This..." Shi Wu hesitated for a moment. His honest nature towards his teacher conflicted with his worry that his teacher would be implicated if he learned the secret. After a moment, he nodded: "It is true, but I didn't hide it on purpose. I just didn't want to embarrass the teacher, so--!"

"Forget it!" Kong Gui sighed, interrupting his student's explanation. "You really don't know your place! Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore. Wei Mengde just sent a messenger to say that he had ambushed and defeated a group of 'bandits'. The leader of the 'bandits' was your brother, Shi Xie, who was injured and captured!"

"What?" Shi Wu jumped up from the ground: "How is this possible? Could this be a plot by the Wei thieves--"

"Look at this! The messenger said they found it on your brother!" Kong Gui pulled a jade pendant from his sleeve and handed it to Shi Wu. "The messenger also said the captured officers, along with their flags and weapons, will be sent back to Panyu later. Leave them to me to handle!"

Shi Wu took the jade pendant, which was indeed his brother's personal belonging. He stood there in a daze. The huge shock of the truth made him not know what to do for a moment. Kong Gui looked at his student with sympathy. He certainly knew what Shi Wu had been busy with in Panyu City these days, but he just didn't dare to ask. But now the situation is clear. Wei Cong even sent Shi Xie's jade pendant, and the meaning behind it is obvious.

"How about this!" Kong Gui sighed, "Is the wound on your arm almost healed? Once your brother is brought here, I'll arrange a boat for you and your brother to sail south to Jiaozhi County for shelter!"

"How can this be!" Shi Wu was anxious when he heard this: "The Wei thief handed my brother over to you, and you just let him go. If he comes back and can't find anyone, won't he harm me?"

"You're worrying too much!" Kong Gui laughed and said, "Wei Mengde is not that kind of person. Since he handed your brother over to me, I can do whatever I want with him. How could he harm me just because I let you brothers go?" He waved his hand to stop Shi Wu's argument: "You still don't understand. Mengde knows that you are my disciple, and he also knows that Shi Xie is your brother. Shi Xie led a light force to attack Panyu and was captured alive by him. How could he not think that you were involved in this matter? If he wanted to kill you, your head would have been chopped off by now. How could you still be talking to me here? He handed your brother over to me just to let you two go, so that he wouldn't have to punish you brothers when he returned. Mengde's men said that he would not kill anyone he wanted to kill, and they were right!"

"Then, why go to Jiaozhi County? Why not go to Gaoyao County to meet up with Prefect Zhang, or return to Guangxin?"

"Ah!" Kong Gui sighed, "Ji An, this is your fault. Wei Mengde spared you two brothers, which is a favor to you. Even if you don't want to repay him, you can't continue to oppose him, right? Otherwise, if he catches you again, even if he wipes out the entire Guangxinshi family, no one in the world can blame him!"

"This..." Shi Wu was speechless for a moment. After a moment, he asked, "Teacher, do you think Wei Cong can defeat Zhang Taishou this time?" "I don't know much about military matters!" Kong Gui said, "But your brother does. He'll be here in two days, and you can ask him in person who will win, Zhang Taishou or Wei Mengde. But honestly, you all underestimated him. Look, he took advantage of the rebellion of the Moth Bandits, which severed the north and south, and marched south from Yuzhang, crossed the Five Ridges, and took Panyu directly. He then led his troops to fight against Zhang Taishou. Your brother thought Panyu had an inside job, so he bypassed Gao Xiang and went straight to Panyu, but was caught red-handed and even lost himself. Do you think all this was just coincidence? That's too much of a coincidence, isn't it?"

"Then why don't we take a boat to Kuaiji?" Shi Wu asked. "Wei Cong defeated Prefect Zhang, and the three counties of Cangwu, Yulin, and Hepu will all be his. If he gets these three counties, how could he let go of Jiaozhi? If my brother and I flee to Jiaozhi, won't we still encounter war?"

"In my opinion, it would be enough if Wei Mengde could conquer Zhang Xu!" Kong Gui said, "After all, Jiaozhi, Jiuzhen, and Rinnan are all busy suppressing local uprisings. If we fight Wei Cong, we Han people will kill each other, and the barbarians will gain an advantage. Why bother? We can simply divide Jiaozhou into five, with Wei Mengde governing the Nanhai, Yulin, Cangwu, Hepu, and Zhuya counties, while Rinnan, Jiuzhen, and Jiaozhi counties will be governed by Zhang Pan, the Jiaozhou governor. Both sides can submit a petition to the court together, begging for permission!"

"Will Wei Cong agree to this?" Shi Wu looked skeptical. "If he can defeat Prefect Zhang, the situation will be extremely favorable for him. Prefect Zhang is being attacked from two sides and is definitely no match for him. He could easily defeat Prefect Zhang and take Jiaozhou all by himself. If he can take it all by himself, why would he want to share it with others?"

"Others might not, but this Wei Mengde might actually agree!" Kong Gui smiled. "After he occupied Panyu, he actually didn't send out troops for a long time, only cracking down on some bandits. It was only when Governor Zhang sent troops to attack him that he went out to fight. And look at what he did after arriving in Panyu: opening schools, repairing city walls, and meeting with sea merchants. He doesn't seem like a warmongerer at all!"

Shi Wu was silent for a while, then sighed, "If it really comes true as you said, it would be a blessing for the people!"

"Yes! It's not only a blessing for the people of Jiaozhou, but also for you brothers!" Kong Gui said with a smile, "If I can convince Wei Mengde, you two will take on the task of spreading the message. This will not only benefit the people of Jiaozhou, but also your family. After all, the Shi family's roots are still in Guangxin!"

"Thank you, Master!" Shi Wu nodded. He finally understood his master's earnest intentions. As Kong Gui had said, if Wei Cong could defeat Zhang Xu, Guangxin would be his. Shi Xie and Shi Wu could escape, but the Shi family in Guangxin could not. Even if it was to save their family, they had to do something to atone for Wei Cong's sins and gain his forgiveness. For the Shi brothers, facilitating an agreement between Wei Cong and Zhang Pan, the governor of Jiaozhou, was the simplest and most useful thing for Wei Cong.

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"Sister-in-law, sister-in-law!" Yu Wen rushed into the yard and shouted, "Something happened, something serious happened!"

"What's the big deal?" Liu came out of the main hall and looked at her sweaty brother-in-law with some dismay: "Awen, you're not a child anymore. Can't you be a little calmer when speaking and doing things?"

"I'm sorry, sister-in-law!" Yu Wen wiped the sweat from his face. "Wei Cong's messenger came with a notice saying that he had just won a great victory and defeated Zhang Taishou's army!"

"Is this true?" Liu frowned. "Besides Lu Bu, did you see anything else?"

"That's not the case, but the messenger said he rushed here from the battlefield and would bring the captured officers and flags in a day or two!"

"Now that you put it that way, it doesn't sound like a lie!" Liu whispered, "After all, if you lie, you'll be exposed in a day or two!"

"Yeah!" Yu Wen nodded. "That's what I thought too. I never thought Zhang Xu was so useless and was defeated so quickly!"

"If that's the case, then there's no need for us to rush back to Kuaiji!" Liu said, "We'll be more useful to your brother if we stay here!"

"Yes!" Yu Wen nodded. "Wei Cong is so capable, he can definitely wipe out the Linyi Kingdom and kill all those Zhan people!"

"That's right!" Liu sighed. "Prefect Zhang always sends thousands or even tens of thousands of soldiers from the prefectures, but they only serve to build and defend the city, wasting money and food. When the invaders come, he can only watch and not dare to leave the city to kill the bandits. What's the point? These barbarians will only learn their lesson if they are beaten hard. In my opinion, if he continues like this, the counties south of Jiaozhi will be lost sooner or later! Instead of this, why not let this Wei Cong give it a try and see if he can do it!"

"What does sister-in-law mean?" Yu Wen asked.

"Wait a moment!" Liu said, "Once the matter is confirmed, you can pass the message on my behalf and see if you can meet with the anti-rebellion captain!"

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Gaoyao County, Wei army camp.

Wei Cong dismounted and threw the reins to the groom who came over: "Feed him more beans and a few eggs. He's worked hard in this battle!"

"Captain!" Liu Jiu, who had already heard the news of the victory, was all smiles. "I heard it was a big win!"

"Hmm!" Wei Cong clapped his hands, shaking off the dust. "The enemy's marching column is very long. I'll use light troops to attack their rear, pinning down their rear. Then, I'll use my main force to attack their front. The cavalry will penetrate their ranks and attack their rear. With this pincer attack, the enemy will collapse! I'll have Diwu Deng stay behind to clean up the mess. How's Gaoyao doing?"

"It's the same old story. After two skirmishes, the enemy is still focused on building their camp. It seems they won't come out to fight us until the camp is finished!"

(End of this chapter)