Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 216 First

Everyone likes to be praised and flattered.

Gao Heng and Gao Yazhi, grandfather and grandson, looked displeased. Liu Daogui was clearly mocking them for their dependence on the Prince of Langya and his son.

"Hmph! Let's see how long you can keep up your stubbornness!" Gao Yazhi snorted coldly.

At this moment, Sun Wuzhong suddenly slammed his hand on the table, his hair and beard standing on end, and he was furious. He pointed at Sun Wuzhong's nose and said, "In the Battle of Yuyao, if you hadn't underestimated the enemy and advanced recklessly, how could we have fallen into the enemy's ambush and caused ten thousand of our soldiers to perish under the enemy's swords?"

Almost everyone glared at the elegance.

Liu Daogui was also taken aback, not expecting that there was such an inside story in the Battle of Yuyao.

Logically speaking, Sun Wuzhong and Huan Bucai were both veteran generals who had fought for most of their lives. Even if they were no match for the demon bandits, they shouldn't have suffered such a crushing defeat. It turns out that they were implicated by Gao Yazhi.

Gao Yazhi had never fought a tough battle in his entire life, so Sima Yuanxian slapped his thigh and appointed him as the commander-in-chief, hoping to give him a prestigious title. However, the result was the opposite of what he expected.

"I……"

Faced with the angry glares and disdain of the Northern Army generals, Gao Ya's face instantly turned liver-colored.

At this moment, Gao Heng cupped his hands in greeting to Liu Laozhi, saying, "The military situation is urgent; we must head south immediately!"

Liu Laozhi coughed once, "Enough! Quickly send out troops and join forces with Ji Nu!"

"I obey!" Liu Daogui did not argue.

He immediately led the central army of the expeditionary force eastward.

The Northern Army had already suffered two defeats and could not afford to fail again. Liu Laozhi also led 15,000 elite troops to follow behind, less than 50 li apart, to support each other.

Liu Daogui breathed a sigh of relief.

Despite the internal strife, Liu Laozhi still had a bottom line when it came to matters of principle.

If this battle is lost, the greatest loss will be suffered by the Liu family of Pengcheng.

After marching for several days, they entered Jiaxing. The newly appointed governor of Wu Commandery, Yuan Song, pacified the refugees and defeated soldiers and built the East and West Hudu fortifications to defend against the rebel navy. It was because of his active preparations that the rebels' northward advance was stopped.

This man came from the Yuan family of Chen Commandery. He was skilled in music and was known as one of the "Three Wonders" along with Yang Tan and Huan Yi.

These three were all true scholars, especially Huan Yi, who was famous for his time. He was good at leading troops on horseback and governing the people on foot, and he mediated between China and foreign countries. In the Battle of Fei River, he was at the forefront of the charge, and he deserves at least three-tenths of the credit.

If it weren't for Yuan Song, the Three Wu regions would have been captured by the rebel army long ago.

During the march, a group of refugees surrounded them. The leader, disheveled and dirty, burst into tears upon seeing Liu Daogui.

"You're such a nuisance, go away and wail." Liu Zun led his men to drive them away.

But the group of people wouldn't leave, staring longingly at Liu Daogui.

“The Way…” the leader cried out in tears.

"Brother Gao? What happened to you?" Liu Daogui was taken aback, but eventually recognized the familiar face.

The unshaven, haggard-looking man before me—who else could it be but Gao Xun and Gao Ziyu?
"It's a long story... I suffered a great defeat following General Wei, and then I suffered another great defeat following Gao Yazhi. My brothers were almost all killed or wounded..."

She was already in her thirties, and tears streamed down her face.

"That bad? You're really unlucky to have ended up with those two scoundrels." Liu Zun gloated without a care in the world.

Liu Daogui kicked him. Although Gao Xun had left him back then, it was out of necessity. The brotherhood was still there, and now that he was in trouble, he couldn't abandon him. "Victory and defeat are common in war. Follow me to avenge our brothers!"

Liu Zun clutched his backside, "Yes, yes, revenge!"

"The reason I stayed here is to wait for the Dao!" Gao Xun wiped away his tears.

"Let's go!" Liu Daogui pulled Gao Xun up and prepared a horse for him.

Gao Xun looked troubled and asked, "Is...is there anything to eat?"

"Yes, as many as you want." Liu Daogui felt a pang of sadness.

When Yuan Song passed through Wu County, he presented many pigs and sheep as rewards. There was never a shortage of grain and fodder, and the local people were quite kind.

However, upon entering Wuxing County, a completely different scene unfolded.

The city walls were tightly shut, and mounds of corpses piled up everywhere at the crossroads. Maggots crawled on rotting faces, and empty eye sockets stared at the approaching soldiers.

The stench of corpses was overwhelming, and headless bodies were everywhere, naked and being devoured by wild beasts. It was May, and the Jiangdong region was sweltering. If the situation wasn't cleaned up, it would sooner or later lead to a plague.

"Who is this local governor? How could he be so capable as to have killed so many demons and bandits?" Liu Zun exclaimed in astonishment.

Liu Daogui was also very surprised, but he had never heard of the governor of Wuxing defeating a demon bandit.

Gao Xun said bitterly, "These are not the corpses of demon bandits, but the able-bodied men of the local area. Prefect Yu Huan of Wuxing was worried that the people in the prefecture would join the bandits, so he massacred five or six thousand people to frighten the people away..."

"What?" Liu Daogui frowned.

This is the first time I've heard of such a method.

When treacherous bandits enter the country, the people should be appeased and encouraged to defend the city.

The difference between the gentry and the commoners is as vast as the heavens.

The aristocratic families never treated the common people and military households below them as human beings.

Yu Huan knew his origins just by hearing his name.

His indiscriminate killing left a foul stench all around, and even the water source was deliberately polluted, leaving Liu Daogui nowhere to set up camp.

Food was supplied by Guangling and Wujun, but water could not be supplied.

It was early summer, and Kuaiji, located south of Jiangdong, was much hotter and more humid than Guangling. Liu Daogui glanced at the soldiers, who were exhausted after a day of marching.

If you drink contaminated water, you will experience vomiting and diarrhea within three days.

The only place nearby to stay is Wucheng, which connects the Tiaoxi River and Taihu Lake, and has clean water.

Gao Xun said, "I'm afraid... Yu Huan is not an easy person to talk to; he is Sima Daozi's confidant."

"I don't care whose people he is. The important task of suppressing the bandits cannot be delayed. Anyone who dares to prevent our army from entering the city will be punished as a traitor!" Liu Daogui's temper flared up.

If this scoundrel hadn't indiscriminately killed people and built a mound of corpses, I wouldn't be in such a predicament.

Soldiers can survive for seven or eight days without food, but they can't endure two days without water.

Not only water, but as far as the eye can see, the surrounding plains are barren and the hills are also barren, like birds whose feathers have been plucked. It is unknown whether they were cut down by demons or by Yu Huan's scorched earth policy.

Liu Daogui didn't even have a chance to boil water.

Wucheng is located in the southwest of Taihu Lake, separated from Kuaiji by the Qiantang River, and the rebel army could attack at any time.

If this city is captured, we can bypass the Three Wu regions and head northwest to Jiankang or Jingkou. Xie Yan marched south along this route.

Liu Daogui quickened his pace and arrived in Wucheng before sunset.

As expected, the city gates remained tightly shut, and even when Liu Daogui produced the imperial seal, the gates were still not opened.

"The governor has ordered that if the Northern Army wishes to suppress the bandits, they may proceed south, but they must not approach Wucheng," several guards shouted from the city wall.

"Damn it, they don't know what's good for them!" Liu Zun roared in anger.

Liu Daogui stared blankly at the two mounds of corpses at the city gate. Each face was filled with resentment and confusion before death, and their empty eye sockets faced the gloomy sky.

Behind every young adult is a family.

The massacre of five or six thousand people was even more heinous than that of the demon bandits.

The surrounding soldiers suddenly fell into complete silence.

Amidst the silence, a mixture of murderous intent and rage mingled.

These new soldiers came from military households and were at the very bottom of society, so it was inevitable that they would feel a sense of shared sorrow.

Liu Daogui took a deep breath, the stench filling his lungs. "Tell them that if they don't open the city gates within an incense stick's time, we will attack the city."

This fellow was completely unyielding, and Liu Daogui was too lazy to waste words on him.

All the able-bodied men in the city had been killed, leaving only a few hundred defenders. These defenders were even more rabble than a mob, and Liu Daogui didn't mind using them to practice his skills...

(End of this chapter)