My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 122 Wu Chuan Asks for Help
In the fourth year of Zhengguang, October.

The howling winds have started blowing again in the north, making this winter destined to be tough.

The siege faced by Wuchuan was even more severe than that faced by Huaishuo. After the rebel forces of Rouxuan, Fuming and Huaihuang joined forces, a small number of them chose to go south, while the vast majority chose to fight to the west.

The rebels in the three eastern towns followed the same strategy as Po Liu Han Baling.

First, they coaxed the entire population of the six towns, where people were known for their fierce and warlike nature and everyone was a soldier, into rebellion. After the soldiers and civilians of the six towns joined forces, they marched south together.

After all, as fellow citizens of the Six Garrisons, they all knew how unfair the imperial court was to the Six Garrisons, and there was no discriminatory treatment involved.

The rebellion in the three eastern towns spread like wildfire.

I imagine the three towns in the west won't be too bad either.
only……

The rebels in the three eastern towns did not expect that they would encounter such a tough nut to crack as soon as they arrived in the three western towns.

After failing to persuade them to surrender, they attempted a direct assault, but not only did they fail, they were also attacked by the Heba and Yuwen families, who led their own troops to give the rebels a taste of their own medicine.

Wu Chuan also defended his reputation as the bravest among the six towns!
This greatly boosted morale and stabilized the hearts of the people in the city.

The reason for achieving such results is mainly because the three towns in the east are not affiliated with each other. On the surface, they are a coalition, but in reality, they fight independently, each with its own agenda, and none of them want to lose their strength, which has led to the current stalemate.

Outside Wuchuan City.

Several cavalrymen galloped to the city gate.

"Quickly, take me upstairs!"

The soldiers guarding the city saw that it was Heba Sheng, one of the three Heba brothers.

They dared not open the city gate, so they could only lower several bamboo baskets and hoist them up.

News of Hebasheng's return to the city spread quickly, and he arrived at the town general's residence, where the Wuchuan forces willing to hold out were all located.

Not everyone in Wuchuan was willing to retreat back into the city and hold out, but powerful clans like the Heba, Dugu, and Yuwen families, who were highly respected and influential in Wuchuan, did not rebel.

That's why the general of Wuchuan was able to keep the morale of the troops stable.

The general of Wuchuan Town was named Zhang Boyao. He was a relative of General Zhang Yi, who was also from the Zhang clan of Qinghe.

Zhang Boyao's situation was similar to Yang Jun's. He was nominally the top leader of Wuchuan, but he didn't have much actual power. At least he couldn't really command the powerful clans under his command.

"What did the Prince of Linhuai say about defeating the Hu?"

Everyone turned to look at Hebasheng, hoping he would reveal the information they wanted.

After holding out for a month without receiving any reinforcements from the imperial court, Wu Chuan ordered He Basheng to lead a breakout and personally head south to seek help from Yuan Yu, the prefect of Sizhou and the Prince of Linhuai.

Dugu Xin brought him a bowl of water, saying, "Let Po Hu drink some water first; there's no rush."

After drinking the water, Hebasheng paused for a moment and looked at Dugu Xin beside him, saying, "Thank you for your help."

Only then did he speak, “The Prince of Linhuai said that without the imperial decree, he dared not easily mobilize troops, nor did he have any troops to mobilize. Even if he forcibly mobilized troops, the county troops would be incapable of fighting. He told us to hold our ground, and that the imperial court had already received the news and would send a large army to quell the rebellion in a few days.”

Yuwen Luosheng frowned slightly. "How foolish is the Prince of Linhuai? What time is it? Are you still waiting for the imperial decree? If the imperial court reacts slowly, they might only be able to collect our corpses."

"Be careful!"

Heba Duba shook his head. "Perhaps the Prince of Linhuai also has his reasons."

The Yuan clan of the imperial family heavily relied on their relatives. In the court, members of the Yuan clan held high positions or served as governors in various prefectures and counties.

However, there are differences in kinship. If a prince is truly favored, he will certainly remain in Luoyang as an official, like the Prince of Gaoyang and the Prince of Jiangyang, and enjoy the richness and prosperity of Luoyang.

Being sent out to serve as a prefect in a place near the border town doesn't mean being completely neglected, but it does limit the level of trust one receives.

As a member of the clan, one naturally has many concerns about one's actions.

Moreover.

There are indeed no troops available to deploy.

After Emperor Xiaowen's "Taihe Reforms", all the Xianbei warriors distributed in various prefectures were transferred to Luoyang to serve as the central army, and the prefectures and counties could only recruit militia within their own territory.

The soldiers of the prefectures and counties who usually farm and only train occasionally have no fighting power. Not to mention going north to the border to fight against the Six Garrisons, where everyone is a soldier. That would be a suicide mission.
Yuan Yu can only defend; without the central army coming, he would absolutely not dare to take the initiative to send troops.

Doing nothing and waiting for the imperial decree may not be right, but at least the court will not hold him accountable afterward, nor will he have to bear any responsibility. As a member of the imperial clan, he can be mediocre and incompetent, but he must be loyal. As a member of the Yuan clan, he is destined to have a place in the many official positions of the Great Wei Dynasty as long as he is loyal.

Everyone remained silent, and their spirits were inevitably somewhat low.

Hebasheng then asked, "Have more people arrived? Why are there more rebels outside the city than before?"

Dugu Xin explained, "They came from the west."

"The west? Huai Shuo has rebelled too?"

Hebasheng's eyes widened in disbelief. "Does that mean Wuchuan is the only isolated city left?"

Dugu Xin shook his head. "It's not that Huai Shuo has rebelled, but that Woye Town has rebelled. The rebel army in Woye has been besieging Huai Shuo for a long time without success. The rebel leader Po Liu Han Baling then sent his general Wei Kegu to send troops to join forces with the rebel army in the three eastern towns. They wanted to first break through Wuchuan and then join forces to attack Huai Shuo together."

"This……"

Hebasheng then understood.

Why has the morale in Wuchuan Town fallen to this low level in just over a month?

Even the garrison commander Zhang Boyao couldn't help but sigh, "Now the rebel army is numerous and powerful, what can we do?"

Zhang Boyao was already regretting it. If he had known the situation would be this bad, he would have surrendered much earlier.

at the moment.

He had no chance to surrender.

The powerful families of the Heba clan have their own core armed forces and are extremely prestigious; the rebels will certainly accept their surrender.

But he himself, the town's general, would surely be beheaded as a sacrifice to the flag.

The resentment accumulated by those who died during the initial siege of Wuchuan by the rebels would eventually be directed at him, the town's commander.

"We still need to ask for reinforcements."

In the crowd, Li Hu, who was not particularly handsome, suddenly spoke up, attracting everyone's attention.

"The Prince of Linhuai dares not send troops, and the Prince of Guangyang in Hengzhou naturally dares not either. Where can we find reinforcements? Are we to go north and find the Rouran?"

Li Hu shook his head and explained, "The west side."

Dugu Xin suddenly realized, "You mean... Huai Shuo?"

"Correct!"

Li Hu nodded and analyzed, "With only the army of Woye Town besieging Huai Shuo, Huai Shuo must still have spare strength. The Huai Shuo garrison commander must understand the simple principle that if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold."

"Morale in the city is currently low. If reinforcements could arrive, it would greatly boost morale!"

That's what it says.

But who will go?

Wu Chuan and Huai Shuo have always been competing openly and covertly, and their relationship is anything but ordinary.

Moreover, they need to borrow troops from Huai Shuo.

The best candidate would definitely be to borrow the second son of the Gao family, who is famous throughout the six towns. He can boost morale and intimidate the enemy!

However, there was a rift between the Gao family and the Heba family.

Everyone's gaze fell on the Heba family members without prior arrangement.

And just then.

Heba Yue stood up voluntarily.

"The rift started because of me, so I'll go to Huai Shuo to get reinforcements this time."

(End of this chapter)