Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 212 Ge Congzhou Offers Advice

The water flows to the lower places, and the people go to the higher places.

This simple principle can be life-saving when you're trapped.

After calming down, Zhu Wen immediately realized that the problem had to be solved right from the start.

Lacking food, they hunt blood bats for sustenance. Unable to find an exit, they try to reach the upward-extending passageways.

The cave has many sinkholes that connect to the outside world, allowing one to determine day and night. After five days and four nights of traversing, Zhu Wen finally found a place that he estimated was very close to the ground.

There is a dead end ahead.

Zhu Wen put down the still dazed Duan Hongyan and used the stalactites he had broken off earlier to dig forward.

It wasn't the indestructible Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Sword; one had to carefully control the force and angle. Zhu Wen accidentally broke one of them, but luckily he had collected several spares.

With a loud crash, earth and rocks tumbled inwards. Zhu Wen held Duan Hongyan tightly, waving his hands to shield her while simultaneously moving to avoid the larger falling rocks.

As the sunlight filtered down from above, Zhu Wen couldn't help but let out a cheer.

But now that several thousand of his brothers are trapped in the mountains, he must immediately return to Chaozhou, borrow troops, and fight his way back to relieve the siege and avenge his brother.

As luck would have it, after leaving the cave and walking a short distance, they saw a young man in brocade robes riding a fine horse, accompanied by several riders on donkeys, galloping along the mountain path.

Zhu Wen put Duan Hongyan aside, leaped up in one stride, landed on his horse, reined in the horse, grabbed the boy by the neck, and pushed him off the horse.

"My friend, I urgently need the horse, I'm sorry!"

Zhu Wen thought for a moment, then took a gold bead from his belt and threw it on the ground as payment for the horse. Fortunately, the small pieces of gold and silver he carried with him hadn't been washed away by the water, otherwise he would have had to resort to robbery.

The young man was inexplicably shoved off his horse, and he was furious. He then realized that the other person was highly skilled and not someone he could afford to offend.

The newcomer had disheveled hair and tattered clothes, and had even left a gold bead to exchange for a horse. It seemed he was in a hurry and not a robber, which relieved the young man. He said, "Please use it, brother!"

Zhu Wen was extremely anxious. He stopped talking to the boy, picked up Duan Hongyan, mounted his horse, and rode away.

Although the horse was not bad, it was carrying two people and was forced to run wildly by Zhu Wen. It could not withstand the pressure and collapsed to the ground with a loud thud when it reached the vicinity of the Caojun army camp outside Chaozhou City. Its huge body kicked up a cloud of dust.

Zhu Wen held Duan Hongyan's waist and landed steadily on the ground.

I saw Ge Congzhou walking out of the military camp.

Zhu Wen was somewhat surprised, because Ge Congzhou had not stayed behind to guard Chaozhou and should now be trapped in the mountains with the army.

"General, you're finally back!" Ge Congzhou's face lit up with joy. "I knew you'd be alive and well..."

"That scoundrel Gao Yan is still alive and kicking. If I die, who will settle accounts with him?" Zhu Wen saw a woman washing clothes for the army nearby, so he put the still unconscious Duan Hongyan into her arms and ordered her to find someone to take care of her.

"Zhou, how did you get out?"

Ge Congzhou chuckled, a smug look on his face. He first found someone to get Zhu Wen a clean set of clothes to change into, and then combed his messy hair before leading Zhu Wen to a secluded place to talk: "The rebel army found a mountain hollow and set up camp. Before Gao Yan could completely surround them, I led a few soldiers back."

"Huang Shuai's army is still besieging Guangzhou. It's probably too late to go to Guangzhou to ask for reinforcements. We can only persuade the gentry and mobilize the local militia to organize troops to come to our aid."

Zhu Wen nodded: "But Huo Cun has already been defeated and retreated once. Lending troops to us again would be quite risky in the eyes of the gentry. Does Cong Zhou have any ideas?"

Ge Congzhou immediately gave the answer: "Those gentry thought that General Jiang was no longer alive, so they used the excuse that you hadn't returned and they were leaderless to refuse to lend troops. Now, as long as General Jiang walks alive in front of them, they will immediately have no excuse."

Zhu Wen chuckled: "I expected them to use such an excuse. But to think that they would lend me troops just because I showed up in front of them is too presumptuous."

"No, no, no." Ge Congzhou shook his head vigorously, "If I didn't have absolute confidence, how could I dare to speak to the general like that?"

"These days, Military Advisor Lan has been associating with noblewomen of Chaozhou and discussing Buddhist principles with the abbots of famous temples such as Kaiyuan Temple and Dongyan Temple, which has earned him great admiration." Zhu Wen knew that Lan Suting had some knowledge of Buddhism and also knew that the people of Chaozhou were fierce and that there were many martial monks in the temples. If he could invite these monks to help him, they would be a good source of soldiers.

"In addition, Physician Luo was also invited by Military Advisor Lan, and in the past few days he has cured the old ailments of several prominent local figures. Even if it is a case of borrowing flowers to present to Buddha, the gentry of Chaozhou still owe us a favor."

Previously, when Luo Yixian visited Shang Rang's camp, she performed moxibustion and acupuncture on him, which relieved most of his daily headaches. However, Yixian also stated that the poison used by Shi Pu was quite difficult to cure, and she would need to study and research for some time to completely detoxify him and restore Shang Rang to his original wise general appearance.

Curing Shang Rang is not something that can be done in ten days, so it is certainly fine for Lan Suting to invite her to Chaozhou.

Lan Suting has always been loved by women older than her. Although Luo Yixian was forced to join Zhu Wen's group, she seems to have been captivated by Lan Suting's intelligence and charm.

Such a performance was not unexpected by Zhu Wen.

Lan Suting is incredibly kind-hearted and exceptionally diligent in her work. Who wouldn't like a girl like that?
As for being adept at strategy and understanding people's hearts, she has learned a great deal from Zhu Wen over the past two years.

"This increases our leverage, but it's still not enough," Zhu Wen commented.

“It’s not enough,” Ge Congzhou agreed. “Because the militiamen are afraid of dying, and the gentry don’t want their own strong men to be injured. Using a rabble to fight against the barbarian savages who are used to killing, or even the elite troops of Commander Lei’s army, everyone has to think twice.”

As he spoke, Ge Congzhou pulled up his trouser leg.

"What if we add this?"

Zhu Wen noticed that Ge Congzhou's calves were covered in wounds, which appeared to have been caused by leeches.

"When I came from Zhou, I accidentally stumbled into a swamp in the mountains. Several of my brothers who came out with me died in the swamp, but I found a path that people could walk on."

Lingnan is rainy, so it's not surprising to find a swamp even in the mountains.

At this point, Ge Congzhou's expression darkened, but he quickly regained his composure: "As long as we launch a surprise attack through the swamp, we can strike the rear of Gao Yan's troops who are surrounding the main force of the rebel army, drive the enemy's fleeing soldiers back up, and with the coordination from both inside and outside, we can achieve the same effect as Emperor Guangwu's Battle of Kunyang!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Wen had to admit that like father, like son, Ge Congzhou was indeed a born general.

At less than fourteen years old, he already possesses such wisdom, courage, resilience, and drive; his future is limitless.

One person's plan is short-sighted, but many people's plans are far-sighted. Even though Zhu Wen was exceptionally intelligent, he still needed the help of others.

According to Ge Congzhou's plan, by launching a surprise attack, even if the local militia were to fight, the casualties would not be significant, and the gentry's biggest concerns could be put to rest.

Just in case, Zhu Wen lowered his voice and asked, "You haven't told anyone about your plan yet, have you?"

Ge Congzhou nodded vigorously: "Of course! This matter can only be discussed with the local dignitaries to reassure them and gain their approval for the military action. Once the operation begins, those who know the secret must accompany the army to prevent the government troops from finding out."

At such a young age, his mind is already so meticulous; he has indeed lived up to his father Ge Jian's reputation.

"Then let's set off now. Let's borrow some troops, rescue Second Brother and Junmei, and settle the score with that bastard Gao Yan!"

Upon hearing Zhu Wen's words, Ge Congzhou's expression changed slightly.

But he made a decision immediately.

Now is not the time for Zhu Wen to know that Zhu Cun sacrificed himself to cover the retreat.

Concern can cloud judgment; excessive grief and anger can overwhelm Zhu Wen and may even have the opposite effect.

This battle could rescue the trapped heroes, but killing Gao Yan would be difficult. After the battle, Zhu Wen was able to process his grief for a period of time, truly turning his sorrow into strength.

That will also be Gao Yan's true death day.

(End of this chapter)