The Three Kingdoms: Home Travel

Late at night, the streets of Xuzhou were deserted, with only a handful of patrolmen walking back and forth near the East Gate.

Fang Yue sat leaning against the city wall, yawning sleepily. Why haven't those wretched Yellow Turbans attacked the city yet?

He looked back at the city wall and thought to himself, "Could it be that the other side has revealed a flaw?"

He got up and paced back and forth, somewhat annoyed. Finally, he frowned, looked at the dark street, picked up his spear, and walked over.

"Clang clang clang..." It's midnight.

After Fang Yue left, the Xuzhou soldiers guarding the east gate suddenly heard several noisy shouts and curses, as well as a woman's crying, in the darkness not far away.

The deputy commander gave a signal, and two elite soldiers from Xuzhou walked over with their spears.

The lieutenant glanced at the east gate under the cover of night, and wondered if it was really as Mr. Jiang had said, that the Yellow Turban rebels would take advantage of the darkness to attack the city.

Huh? Why aren't they back yet? The lieutenant was starting to get suspicious. Just then, he suddenly saw two figures emerge from the darkness. He recognized them immediately by the distinctive armor of the Xuzhou soldiers.

"You guys are usually quite efficient!" the lieutenant said with a chuckle. "What, are you meddling in other people's business?"

The two men from Xuzhou didn't speak, but just chuckled softly and waved their hands.

Huh? The adjutant immediately sensed something was wrong. Suddenly hearing footsteps nearby, he turned around and shouted in that direction, "Who's there? Come out!"

Immediately, the crossbowmen beside the adjutant raised their crossbows and aimed them at that corner.

"My...my lord..." Several civilians stammered as they stepped forward, waving their hands, "Please don't kill us, we...we are citizens of Xuzhou City..."

"Don't you know there's a curfew these days?!" the adjutant shouted sternly. "Password!"

"Password?" The commoner hesitated for a moment, then said tentatively, "Not much, not much?"

The adjutant's stern expression softened instantly, but he still said sternly, "I will not pursue your crimes for now. Go back and rest! If you are treated as..." He frowned and did not finish his sentence.

"Huh?" The leader of the crowd looked at the adjutant with a puzzled expression.

"It's nothing, it's nothing..." The adjutant was waving for the civilians to leave when he suddenly felt a pain in his waist. He turned his head in surprise and saw the Xuzhou soldier who had just returned with a ferocious expression. The short knife in his hand was plunged into his body. Then, a hand suddenly pressed down on his mouth, followed by several more stabs.

He wasn't... The adjutant suddenly felt all his strength drain away, and only when he collapsed did he realize that it wasn't his subordinate...

The two crossbowmen behind the adjutant were clearly taken aback, and they threw away their crossbow bolts and drew their short swords.

The "commoner" uttered a low shout, "Quickly!"

Several men rushed forward, and the two Xuzhou soldiers could only let out a low scream.

The leader of the "commoners" waved his hand, and immediately more than a dozen people dressed as commoners appeared from the darkness. They picked up the corpse of the Xuzhou elite soldier and left. After a short while, several people wearing Xuzhou military armor came out and nodded to the leader of the commoners.

"Hey! What's going on over there?" A voice called out from afar, and several patrolling Chen family guards came over.

Those people dressed as commoners immediately disappeared into the darkness, leaving only the defeated people of Xuzhou (the Yellow Turbans).

"What's wrong?" asked a Chen family retainer who was approaching from afar, warming his hands with his breath.

"It's nothing, nothing!" A soldier from Xuzhou (a Yellow Turban) said in a low voice, waving his hand. "I just ran into a few civilians who didn't know about the curfew, so I chased them away!"

"Oh!" The four or five Chen family retainers nodded, then frowned and said, "We can't entirely blame them. If anyone is to blame, it's those despicable Yellow Turban rebels..."

The Yellow Turban soldier dressed as a Xuzhou soldier clearly had a hint of anger on his face, which flashed by quickly before he stepped forward and said, "Hey, I haven't asked you for your password yet!" Four or five Yellow Turban soldiers immediately followed.

"Alright, alright!" The Chen family retainer waved his hand with a smile and said, "Brother, you're being too cautious. We can't possibly be those Yellow Turban rebels..."

"Hehe..." The leader of the Yellow Turbans laughed and walked up. When he got close, he suddenly took out a short knife from his waist and stabbed the other man. He then covered the other man's mouth with his hand.

At the same moment, the Yellow Turbans behind him also made their move, and the four or five Chen family retainers were captured before they could react.

"Hmph!" The leader of the Yellow Turbans glanced at the corpse on the ground and said indifferently, "You are not, I am!"

He then looked around and immediately dragged the corpses into the darkness. Before long, four or five more Yellow Turbans dressed as Chen family retainers appeared behind him.

Thus, by being prepared while the enemy was unprepared, the Yellow Turban army in Xuzhou quickly obtained about a hundred sets of armor from Xuzhou soldiers or Chen family generals.

He quickly estimated that there was still an incense stick's worth of time before the Xuzhou troops would be relieved, and immediately headed to the East Gate.

Before they even reached the gate, a low shout came from the direction of the east gate: "Who's there? Halt!" This was followed by the sound of arrows being nocked from crossbows.

He lowered his voice and said, "It's me, it's me..."

"How would I know who you are?" The guard at the east gate muttered to himself. He glanced at the newcomers a few more times and saw that they were wearing the armor of Xuzhou soldiers, and some of them were even wearing the armor of Chen family retainers. His vigilance seemed to dissipate, but he still said with some annoyance, "It's not time for the change of guard yet. What are you doing here? You scared me half to death!"

"Oh, it's like this. The weather is cold, so Mr. Chen and Lord Jiang sent us here to relieve you of your posts. They want you brothers to go back and have some hot wine and rest."

It would have been better if he hadn't said anything, but once he did, the guard at the east gate immediately became suspicious. Everyone knew that Jiang Zhe valued time above all else; if it wasn't time to leave, they absolutely couldn't leave early, or they would be severely punished with a beating. Everyone knew that Mr. Jiang would rather serve wine and food to the soldiers during their rest time than allow them to change shifts too early or too late while on duty.

He had only been grumbling and hadn't really thought about it, but now that the Yellow Turbans were mentioned, he suddenly had some doubts.

The clerk smiled slightly and said with a chuckle, "Since that's the case, then I'll go and rest first. I'll have to trouble you brothers. Oh! Look at my memory, I actually forgot the routine password. Brother, I'm sorry, this can't be skipped, otherwise I'll definitely get a few lashes..."

"No problem, no problem..." The Yellow Turban soldier secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "The password is minimal!"

"Heh..." The strategist smiled outwardly, but inwardly sneered. He knew immediately that these people were spies. His own brothers all knew that was a password used against the common people. Hmph! Even the Yellow Turban rebels wouldn't have thought of this! Mr. Jiang is truly brilliant...

"Okay!" The general nodded and said, "Then we'll head over first. Oh, right, we also need to inform the brothers on the city wall..." He turned around, patted the shoulder of the soldier beside him, and said, "Xiao Xu, go tell the brothers we've changed shifts!"

Xiao Xu suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder. Looking at the deputy general's eyes, he saw a sharp look and realized that he had already felt that the command was missing two sentences. Now that he saw his superior like this, how could he not understand?

Immediately, Xiao Xu chuckled and said, "Hey! I got it. I'll go up and inform them, but you guys have to wait for me! Don't steal my wine!"

"You'll get your share!" Na Ya was somewhat relieved; this usually clever and quick-witted subordinate hadn't made a mistake at the crucial moment!

Before long, Xiao Xu returned. The clerk greeted the Yellow Turban soldiers with a smile, "By the way, did you bring some warm wine for the brothers on the city wall when you came? It's really unfair to them having to keep watch all night..."

Huh? The Yellow Turban soldier was taken aback. The Xuzhou troops on the city wall weren't changing shifts? Then... how could he use an excuse to get rid of them? He had an idea... wine...

"Um, how about I send someone out to buy some wine and deliver it upstairs?" the Yellow Turban said hesitantly.

Even if you offered it up, no one would drink it! Mr. Jiang is most averse to soldiers drinking while on duty, you traitor!

"Never mind, never mind..." The general called out and led the hundred or so men from the east gate away. When they got some distance away, his expression changed. He immediately ordered his subordinates to go to the military camp in the city to summon the elite troops of Xuzhou, and he himself hurriedly went to the Chen residence.

The Chen family mansion is now fully prepared. Five hundred elite soldiers from Xuzhou are well-fed and watered, waiting for the Yellow Turban Army to arrive in the Chen family mansion. Even Chen Deng is carrying a sword with him when he reads the declaration of war.

Suddenly, a noise was heard outside, and a man rushed in. Chen Deng gripped his sword and examined him closely. He recognized him as Dongmen Yajiang and said in a deep voice, "Why are you in such a panic!"

"Reporting to Mr. Chen, just now, Yellow Turban spies inside the city tried to lure me away from the city gate..."

"Oh?" Chen Deng's eyes lit up immediately, and he said in a deep voice, "Tell me in detail!"

The clerk then recounted the events of the past to Chen Deng in detail. Chen Deng slammed his hand on the desk and exclaimed, "Well done!"

"Even the brothers on the city walls have been instructed by my subordinates to feign exhaustion; the Yellow Turbans will surely fall for it!"

"Excellent!" Chen Deng clapped his hands and laughed, then walked out of the study and called out, "Men! muster the troops!"

"Yes!" The two elite soldiers from Xuzhou outside the study immediately ran out. In just a few breaths, all the elite soldiers from Xuzhou in the courtyard had sheathed their swords and were ready.

"Let's go!" Chen Deng's expression changed as he walked out. Before leaving, he said to the general, "Go and report this matter to my master! Go quickly!"

"Yes!" Naya hurriedly ran out.

"Finally here? The Yellow Turban rebels?" Chen Deng sneered. "An inside-outside attack? I'll show you what it means to lure someone into a trap!"

.