Chapter 41: Entering the City in Secret

Wang Shou'en and the other two withdrew to prepare for the uprising, and Xiang Xun truly did lie down on a military cot, closing his eyes.

Of course, even with body and mind utterly exhausted, at such a moment, how could Xiang Xun actually fall asleep? Though his eyes were closed, his ears stood at attention, and when the sound of soldiers assembling echoed through the camp, Xiang Xun even reached out to grip the long sword at his side.

Soon, Li Wanchao's somewhat impassioned voice drifted over from afar—though muffled, one could roughly make out that Li Wanchao was proclaiming the righteous uprising, rousing the soldiers, and stirring their emotions.

Amid a burst of shouts, the Su Rui soldiers charged out of the camp, heading toward the Military Governor's residence. From within the tent, Xiang Xun could feel the vibrations of soldiers sprinting past. The sounds gradually faded, and the camp slowly grew quiet. Before long, the sound of battle cries came from the direction of the governor's headquarters—it did not last long—and after that, Xiang Xun completely relaxed and fell asleep.

At dawn, the eastern sky revealed its usual pale sliver of light. Several miles north of Shangdang city, after a night of forced marching, Ma Quanyi led his troops to arrive as promised—indeed, under his urging, they arrived even earlier than expected.

Northwest of Shangdang lay two stretches of open plain with broad visibility. Spurring his horse up a small hillside and gazing south, one could faintly make out the city standing on the plain.

"General Ma, Shangdang is just ahead!" The scout leader guiding the way pointed at the city of Shangdang in the distant morning mist and said to Ma Quanyi.

"Pass the order—have the soldiers rest where they are, drink water, and eat!" Summoning two battalion commanders, Ma Quanyi gave the order directly.

He then instructed the scout beside him: "Take your men and reconnoiter the situation at the city walls. Be extremely careful—if anything happens, report back immediately!"

"Yes!"

Paying no heed to his own slight weariness, Ma Quanyi waited for the scouts' reports while considering the situation in Shangdang. This was his first time leading troops independently. Though the mission was not difficult within the plan, matters of war could never be taken lightly, and with Liu Chengyou's trust placed in him, Ma Quanyi acted with exceptional caution.

Leaning against the low slope, the soldiers of the First Army rested where they were. Some of the more experienced veterans seized this rare opportunity to eat and recover their strength, ready at any moment for possible combat.

After a night of forced marching, they had stopped only once along the way, and under Ma Quanyi's relentless urging, quite a few soldiers had fallen behind. By now, the entire army was utterly exhausted, with little fighting strength remaining.

Ma Quanyi did not have to wait long. The scouts returned, bringing with them a liaison soldier sent by Xiang Xun. They brought good news—Shangdang had surrendered the entire city without resistance. Ma Quanyi was overjoyed, and at the same time, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"General, shall we advance to Shangdang and enter the city to rest and regroup?"

Hearing the question, Ma Quanyi shook his head instead. He looked back at the exhausted soldiers below the slope, then raised his hand and said: "No rush—wait a bit longer!"

He deliberately delayed another half hour or more. Only after the First Army's soldiers had somewhat recovered did Ma Quanyi give the order to advance toward Shangdang. By the time he cautiously led his troops to the city walls, it was fully daylight, the city gates were open, and Xiang Xun and Li Wanchao stood right below the walls. Hanging from the battlements were two bloody severed heads.

"General Ma!" Xiang Xun immediately came forward to greet him, taking the opportunity to introduce Li Wanchao.

Compared to Xiang Xun, Ma Quanyi was far younger—not to mention anything else, the age gap alone was plain to see. Though Xiang Xun was now merely a guard at Liu Chengyou's side, Ma Quanyi did not dare underestimate him in the slightest; a simple guard would never have been entrusted with such an important mission.

His attitude carried not a trace of arrogance. After exchanging a few courteous pleasantries, he asked about the situation in the city.

Xiang Xun had dark circles under his eyes, but his expression was very relaxed. Smiling, he said: "This morning, General Li led the Su Rui soldiers in storming the governor's residence, slaying Zhao Xingqian and the Khitan tax collector. The city is now fully under our control—we await only Your Highness's arrival from the south!"

"Excellent!" Ma Quanyi's face was full of joy. Summoning a cavalryman, he instructed: "Send someone immediately to notify Your Highness!"

"General Ma, the brothers have marched hard. I have already ordered the barracks cleaned and food prepared—please, enter the city!" At this moment, Li Wanchao spoke up on his own initiative.

"Many thanks!"

Seeing that Li Wanchao's attitude was indeed friendly and that he had proactively invited them into the city, Ma Quanyi lowered his guard a bit more. Still, he remained vigilant, observing the situation below the walls as he led his men inside.

"Once inside the city, send someone to the Military Governor's residence immediately!" As they entered, Xiang Xun quietly sidled up to Ma Quanyi, his face betraying nothing while he spoke in a low voice.

Ma Quanyi was somewhat surprised, but he nodded in agreement.

At this moment, the Military Governor's residence was bustling with activity. Besides clearing away a few corpses, some soldiers were ransacking the various halls, overturning chests and cabinets, and looting valuables. What was more, the doors to the treasury had been pried open, and groups of soldiers were carrying things out.

The one giving the orders was none other than Wang Shou'en. This fellow, barely having taken Shangdang, had his greed erupt—or rather, he had been eyeing the governor's residence all along.

Within the residence, besides the household wealth of the former Military Governor Zhang Cong'en, the treasury also held large quantities of money extorted by Zhao Xingqian and the Khitan tax collector. After securing control of the entire city, as soon as dawn broke, Wang Shou'en could not wait to barge into the governor's residence with his men...

Before the treasury, Wang Shou'en, clad in a brocade robe, gazed at the large and small chests of money laid out in the courtyard, his eyes gleaming. Beside him, Gao Fang wore a stern expression, with dissatisfaction written across his face.

"Governor Wang, everything in the treasury is state revenue—how can it be appropriated? Please give the order for the soldiers to stop!" Looking at Wang Shou'en, Gao Fang could not hold back and urged him.

Glancing at Gao Fang, Wang Shou'en chuckled. He immediately summoned a few soldiers and pointed at a chest: "Carry this chest to Administrative Assistant Gao's residence!"

Hearing this, a flash of anger crossed Gao Fang's face, as if he had been insulted: "Governor, that is not what I meant!"

"Could it be that you think it's too little?" Wang Shou'en was taken aback, then a pained expression appeared on his face: "Then add another chest!"

Hearing this, Gao Fang was furious. He stepped forward and grabbed Wang Shou'en's arm forcefully, then turned his head to glare at the soldiers who were about to empty the treasury, and shouted: "Everyone, stop right now!"

Gao Fang's prestige in Shangdang was considerable—the moment he spoke, the soldiers halted their movements and looked over.

Wang Shou'en was displeased as well. Shaking off his hand, he stared at him: "Administrative Assistant Gao, what do you think you're doing?"

Gao Fang met his gaze without the slightest fear, his tone indignant as he declared loudly: "We answered the call of the Son of Heaven in Jinyang to rise up—for the great righteousness of state and family, to deal with the Khitan! Now that the banner of justice has just been raised, you, Governor, wish to strip the treasury bare. If word of this spreads, how will the world view us?"

As he spoke, Gao Fang pointed at the treasury and raised his voice further: "How much of these funds are the people's flesh and blood extorted by the Khitan? How can you, Governor, bear to claim them as your own?"

When Gao Fang finished, Wang Shou'en responded with a cold sneer and offered a very "reasonable" argument: "The soldiers risked life and limb to join us in this righteous uprising against the Khitan. Taking some money to reward their merits—what's wrong with that? As for these people's funds, we killed the Khitan envoys and spared the people of Luzhou further exploitation. This can serve as their reward, and it saves us from having to levy additional taxes to pay the troops."

"You!" Hearing Wang Shou'en shamelessly spout such fallacies, Gao Fang was so furious his whiskers bristled.

"We raised troops to answer the Hedong army's call. The Second Prince is leading his forces here. If you strip the treasury bare with such conduct, how will you explain yourself to His Highness the Prince when he arrives?" Suppressing his anger, Gao Fang invoked Liu Chengyou and the Hedong army.

Wang Shou'en's brow furrowed slightly, looking somewhat wary, as if deep in thought. Seeing this, Gao Fang felt that Wang Shou'en had taken his words to heart and calmed down. What he did not know was that what Wang Shou'en was actually thinking was: precisely because the Hedong army was coming, he needed to grab his share before they entered the city...

Just as he was about to speak again in persuasion, Wang Shou'en said in a hoarse voice, stubbornly: "Even if the Hedong army comes, when the Second Prince stands before us, he should still reward the brothers. Otherwise, why should we risk our lives for him!"

With that, he paid Gao Fang no further heed, turned around, and grandly instructed his subordinate soldiers: "Listen well, all of you — move every chest of money in this compound to my residence. Hmm... leave two chests in the treasury! And don't loot the Military Governor's mansion either... search it."