Chapter 66: Fall of Heyang

These surrendered Jin soldiers had suffered enough oppression from the Khitan and harbored deep resentment. Now ordered to pack up their families and move north beyond the frontier, their fury only grew. Stirred up by Wu Xingde, they exploded outright, and out of respect for Wu Xingde's prestige, all declared their willingness to follow him.

He quickly roused the boatmen as well. The conscripted trackers — which of them hadn't endured the Khitan's cruelty? — all joined with righteous fervor. As for the Jin soldiers' families accompanying them, they had no choice but to support the endeavor.

"Second Brother, pass the order — distribute the armor and weapons. Free up a few boats, pick eight hundred stout warriors, and follow me west up the river. The rest of the men, you lead, to protect the families and escort the weapons and armor!" Inside the cabin, now clad in full military armor, Wu Xingde rapidly issued orders to his younger brother Wu Xingyou.

"Elder Brother, where are you taking us?" Wu Xingyou asked.

These men only knew to follow the uprising; they didn't think independently about the next move. Decisions of life and death had to be made by Wu Xingde.

"Heyang!" Wu Xingde said with absolute certainty. "In the Central Plains and Hebei right now, the Khitan have massed their forces — we cannot sail east with the current. Staying in Heyang County and defending the city would be waiting for death. Heyang is our only destination, our only road to survival!"

"Why?" Wu Xingyou was a bit puzzled.

Patiently, Wu Xingde explained to his brother: "The Hedong army has already marched south, taken Luzhou, and controls Zezhou. If we push west and seize Heyang, we can link up with Hedong, Luzhou, and Zezhou into one continuous stretch. Now that the Khitan have made up their minds to withdraw from the Central Plains, we only need to lean on the Hedong army, hold Heyang, and wait for them to retreat."

"I've long pondered this — the chances of success are high. If the Khitan withdraw, the Son of Heaven at Jinyang will sooner or later march into the Central Plains, and then we can use Heyang as our ticket to advancement. Our sudden uprising at Heyang County catches the Khitan off guard — we sail upstream and strike Heyang by surprise."

"Time is tight; there's not a moment to waste. Second Brother, go pass the order!"

After hearing Wu Xingde's decision, Wu Xingyou felt enlightened and instinctively clasped his hands: "Then I'll go with you, Elder Brother!"

"No!" Wu Xingde shook his head in refusal, raising a hand to stop Wu Xingyou, and pointed at the dozens of ships behind him with solemn instruction: "Second Brother, you must understand how important these weapons are to us. Once we take Heyang, we can use them to quickly raise a righteous army against the Khitan. Our brothers' families must also be protected — with them safe behind, the soldiers will fight with full abandon by my side!"

Seeing Wu Xingde so grave, Wu Xingyou finally nodded: "Understood. I will not fail your trust, Elder Brother!"

"Good — glory, rank, and riches all hang on this one move!" Wu Xingde clenched his fist.

"Elder Brother, there are still Khitan troops in Heyang. If they learn of our plans in advance, prepare defenses, and lead troops against us — we only have a thousand-plus men..." Just about to relay the order, Wu Xingyou suddenly added a hesitant reminder.

Hearing this, Wu Xingde drew a deep breath, his face full of resolve: "If it truly comes to that, then we must fight with our backs to the wall — a thousand death-defying warriors of mine can stand against ten thousand!"

Moving with great speed, the fleet was reorganized, weighed anchor, set sail into the great river, and traveled upstream through the night. Wu Xingde personally led eight hundred warriors in light boats, racing ahead straight for Heyang.

Pressing on by water day and night, they disembarked at Meng Prefecture in Heyang and came ashore. Unfortunately, Cui Tingxun, the Military Governor of Heyang, had detected their approach in advance and personally led troops to oppose them.

Wu Xingde rallied his men before battle and led them to meet the enemy, fighting a desperate battle outside Heyang city. Outnumbered, they fought fiercely for half a day and actually defeated Cui Tingxun. Cui Tingxun fled in defeat; Wu Xingde's gamble succeeded. Though losses were not insignificant, he managed to enter and occupy Heyang city.

"Hahaha..." Atop the southern wall of Heyang, gazing at the surging river waters flowing past not far away, Wu Xingde couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Disheveled and bedraggled, his armor still stained with blood, eyes bloodshot — yet Wu Xingde's spirit burned with a morbid excitement. His hands caressed the city wall with almost "loving" tenderness, venting freely for a long while before finally sneering: "Heaven truly aids me! Had Cui Tingxun held the city and defended, I'd have been in real trouble. A pity for him, hahaha..."

Soon, Wu Xingde had Heyang city completely under control — raising banners, gathering righteous troops, drilling soldiers, opening the treasury, rewarding the meritorious, and repairing the defenses. Of course, the most proactive thing he did, once the situation stabilized, was to send his brother Wu Xingyou north in secret to pledge allegiance to Hedong and request aid.

Time had now reached the tail end of mid-March. Over the past half month, Liu Chengyou had been at Shangdang, sharpening his troops and drilling the various armies. More than half of the original Luzhou and Zezhou forces had been incorporated into the Longqi Army, and thanks to their shared combat experience, they integrated quickly. Of course, Liu Chengyou had carefully reported the army expansion to Liu Zhiyuan.

Beyond military matters, Liu Chengyou also attempted to sort out the governance of Luzhou, focusing on "abolishing miscellaneous taxes." Though Liu Zhiyuan had issued the policy, execution was what mattered most. Upon inspection, sure enough, some subordinate prefectures and counties of Luzhou were still governing as before. Only under Liu Chengyou's personal attention did the policy take effect — though, of course, Liu Chengyou's methods were not heavy-handed...

On the tenth day, Liu Chengyou also returned to Jinyang to report on his duties, personally sharing with Liu Zhiyuan his judgments and insights on the state of the realm. He showed himself to his mother Lady Li to ease her worries. Along the way, he stayed a night at the residence and poured himself out upon his beloved concubine Lady Geng...

Meanwhile, Jinzhou had also been taken smoothly. Murong Yanzhao led his troops, advancing unhurriedly toward the prefectural seat of Linfen, arriving before the city walls with over a thousand infantry and cavalry. The tactic he chose was no different from how Liu Chengyou had taken Shangdang that day — the same inside-out coordination.

In truth, quite a few people in Linfen city were at odds with Acting Military Governor Luo Conglang. After all, the Khitan might be powerful, but they were a thousand li away, while Hedong's strength was right before their eyes. Besides, how could the Khitan compare to Hedong in closeness?

Seeing that Murong Yanzhao had few troops, Luo Conglang led his forces out to attack. But right on the battlefield, the general Yao Kechou led his men in a mutiny, turning their weapons against their own side. In a single battle, Luo Conglang was defeated, and Linfen was taken smoothly.

With Linfen taken, the remaining counties and towns fell almost by proclamation alone. With virtually no losses, Jinzhou was recovered. With this achievement, Murong Yanzhao firmly secured his position as Commander of the Fourth Army.

And in the Battle of Linfen, Yang Ye also made a rapid comeback — the merits of slaying a general and seizing the banner were all claimed by him alone. It was said that on the battlefield, he hoisted Luo Conglang's head, roared to the heavens, and swept his gaze over the thousand-strong army, causing the Jinzhou troops to lay down their arms and surrender one after another.

After returning to Shangdang, Yang Ye was directly promoted by Liu Chengyou to Captain of the newly expanded Second Cavalry Command. In less than a month, he had been demoted and then restored — promoted on military merit, personally named by Liu Chengyou himself. Yang Ye's name spread throughout the entire Longqi Army.

When Wu Xingyou traveled north, passing through Shangdang, he submitted a calling card to pay a visit — but Liu Chengyou was at that moment conducting an inspection of the "Yan Camp" in Shangdang.