Chapter 574

On the day Longzhou City fell, the first man to charge up the wall on horseback was named Yue Wenyuan; right after him, together with his brother Yue Wenkui, he was the first to storm the prefectural office.

The two brothers came from a hereditary military family in Zhuanglang Garrison and later served as local militia officers in the Five Towns of Hehuang. Jing Xiaoliu had earned merit defending Zhuanglang Garrison City, and because his family's prestige commanded respect, the military office recommended him into the Tiger Guard Battalion.

They were descendants of Yue Fei.

That bloodline was nothing rare, though — the Yue family had served in the army for generations, spreading far and wide through military redeployments until they were everywhere, and Gansu was a military commandery. The descendants of Yue Fei gathered under Liu Chengzong's rule were numerous enough to form a whole Yue Family Battalion.

This time the two of them had originally intended to storm the prefectural office and earn the merit of capturing the prefect alive, but to their surprise, there were no living souls left inside the compound.

When Liu Chengzong entered the city, the Marshal's troops had already taken over the defense. Mounted soldiers rode through the streets loudly proclaiming the peace notice, ordering city residents to stay indoors with their gates shut, and to keep a close eye on their livestock so the big birds wouldn't carry them off.

The vultures that had followed the army all the way from Qinghai were, in truth, a real headache for Liu the Lion.

The vultures trailing him numbered over thirty flocks, each flock as small as five or six birds or as large as eleven or twelve. However far the army spread out, that was how far across the sky they circled.

The Marshal's headquarters scouts had indeed considered taming the vultures — after all, the vultures had latched onto them, and circling in the sky to some extent exposed the Marshal's army's position. But if turned to advantage, they could also serve as a deterrent and help spot enemy troops.

Only later did people realize there was no need to tame them at all… these creatures were far too familiar with humans, completely unafraid of strangers. As long as they weren't starving, they wouldn't actively attack living things, and even when they were starving, they wouldn't attack an army.

When they were hungry, though, they posed a considerable threat to small animals caught alone. So whenever the Marshal's army's various mounted patrols made camp, they would rob — no, share — the vultures' prey.

This, in turn, made the relationship between them and the vultures even closer.

After all, that was simply how flocking vultures lived: one vulture attacks a small animal, and every other vulture that sees it gets a share. Then they all put on a face-changing show, their necks and heads turning red as they bluff and threaten one another.

That was a skill the Marshal's army had too. Their cloth-faced iron armor was red. They would charge over on horseback, drive all the vultures away, clean the prey, take the best meat, then slice the rest into strips and share them out among the vultures — cleaning it up so thoroughly that nothing was guaranteed to be left.

It fit perfectly with the vultures' no-waste way of life.

The Marshal's army had changed the vultures' lives to a great degree. Before, they lived feast or famine, often going hungry for days and then eating a meal so heavy they were too stuffed to fly. Now, ever since they'd followed the Grand Marshal, they went hungry ten times in five days — every meal had food, and every meal left them hungry.

After all, a hawk must not be full: when full, it flies far away; when hungry, it turns on its master.

Liu Chengzong's attitude toward the vultures was complicated. He had specifically issued orders to the soldiers that even when feeding the vultures, they must not make close contact.

That order made the relationship between the Marshal's army and the vulture flocks one of courteous mutual respect.

Mainly because vultures were large, and he feared the soldiers might eat them — vultures were carrion-eaters, after all, and their own immune systems were strong, so no one knew whether they might carry other pathogens. On the other hand, there was a benefit: in this era, Shaanxi often had rotting corpses, and the vultures could clean up all those sources of infection that might cause plague.

When Liu Chengzong entered the Longzhou prefectural office, there was nothing inside but his own soldiers and twelve corpses.

Seven bodies were laid out in the main hall, covered with two reed mats by the Yue brothers. Before they entered the office, the city had already been thrown into chaos once — people had stormed the prefectural office, looted the valuables, freed the prisoners, opened the prefectural treasury, and beaten to death the few runners and the clerks of the Six Offices who had remained in the compound.

In the rear hall sat three coffins of differing specifications, all pried open, though the corpses inside were intact — at least no one had disturbed Deng Qi's sleep.

Liu Chengzong took only one glance, then ordered the coffins closed again — Deng Qi's fall had left him too hideous to look at, and to cover the disfigurement when they laid him out, they had caked on a thick layer of powder, which made him even uglier.

As for the prefect's residence in the innermost part, according to the Yue brothers, the bandits seemed to have just fled when they entered and hadn't had time to reach the inner quarters, so it had not been looted. But Hu Erchun had not brought his family to his post, and there wasn't much of anything inside.

Liu the Lion thought to himself that if he were the prefect, he wouldn't bring his family either.

A prefect was a fairly high official. In other provinces, bringing one's family meant enjoying glory and riches. But in Shaanxi in these years, anyone who dared come to take up such a post was a desperado with his head hanging from his belt. The danger was far greater than that of bandits and robbers in the mountains. Unless a man was a Shaanxi native and leaving his family elsewhere was even more dangerous, how many would dare bring their families to their post?

Hu Erchun and Li Qimao were in the rear residence of the prefectural office.

On the table in the room sat half a jug of wine, two cups, and a long letter.

The prefect with guts and the eunuch without balls — in the end, they were the same: six feet of plain white cloth, hanging from the beam, one on the left and one on the right.

When Liu Chengzong saw Li Qimao suspended from the beam, he felt no stir of emotion. But when he saw Hu Erchun hanging there too, he grew especially angry, his brow immediately furrowing.

The brothers Yue Wenyuan and Yue Wenkui, who were guiding him, exchanged glances, at a loss as to why the Grand Marshal's face had suddenly darkened.

Yue Wenkui assumed Liu Chengzong had not seen the prefect's seal, so he quickly pointed to the table and said, "Grand Marshal, the prefect's seal is still here. It was hidden under that tree in the courtyard — the freshly dug earth made it obvious at a glance that something was buried there."

"Well done."

Liu Chengzong rested his left hand on the saber hilt at his waist, walked to the table, picked up Hu Erchun's letter, and began to read.

This Hu Erchun had died in a way that showed him no face at all. Before the battle, when Liu the Lion was still up on Liupan Mountain, he had written to advise him, plainly stating that Longzhou City held only civilian militia, no government troops, and could not possibly hold out. Even if they fought to the death, without reinforcements within three days the city would surely fall — better to surrender early and spare others their lives.

So the moment the city fell that morning, Liu the Lion had only one thought on his mind: Once I get inside, I'm going to give him a proper scolding.

If he knew it would come to this, why did he do it? Why didn't he surrender!

He was still wrestling with himself inwardly, thinking that if Hu Erchun wept bitter tears and regretted not surrendering sooner, should he accept his surrender and give him an official post? After all, the man was talented, an official who could get things done, and on top of that, he had a stiff backbone — he met every requirement Liu the Lion had for someone wearing an official's robe.

But the moment he entered the city, with his curses all prepared, the man had gone and hanged himself.

Now his only hope lay in this final letter. He hoped that at the end of his life, Hu Erchun would have seen the light and repented. But when he unfolded the letter and read on, he was sorely disappointed.

This Hu Erchun was truly pure — even more stiff-necked than Liu Chengzong had imagined. The letter was addressed to his elderly mother and his son back home, and only at the very end did it mention him in passing, and even that was just the polite formula asking him to treat the common people kindly.

Li Qimao was even cooler — he hadn't left a single word, just departed clean and neat.

Liu Chengzong had absolutely no temper left for these two. Irritably waving his hand, he said to the Yue brothers inside the residence, "Take these two loyal pendants down. Have two more coffins prepared and, together with Deng Qi in the main hall, send them all to the left — no, send them all to Tang Jiuzhou, who's hiding in the mountains to the north."

In truth, Hu Erchun had regretted it.

Last night, when the moat outside the city was filled in solid, Hu Erchun had deeply regretted not simply opening the gates in the first place.

But war is like that. Sima Yi said: if you can fight, fight; if you cannot fight, defend; if you cannot defend, flee. The only two things left after that are surrender and death.

It was just that once the moat was filled in, Hu Erchun felt that thinking about surrender at that point was no longer appropriate.

When two armies face off, when is the best time to surrender?

When the gap between the two sides is smallest, and when the cost to the enemy is greatest.

Liu Chengzong was outside the city, Hu Erchun was inside, and between them stood the city wall, the moat, and the defensive trench. Even if the outcome was certain without a fight, the defenders had three hundred men, so the attackers had to steel themselves in advance for the cost of six hundred lives.

Surrendering at that moment was most advantageous.

Once the real assault began, the Marshal's army suffered three casualties: two men killed by close-range fire from three-eyed guns, and one whose horse, startled by the flash and roar of a firearm while charging the wall, stumbled and threw him down the earthen ramp, injuring him. The rest of the mounted troops swept across the wall unopposed, and the defenders crumbled into rout — with not a shred of threat left in their hands, what surrender was there to speak of?

A man without threat has no value.

Hu Erchun thought to himself: rather than surrender, suffer humiliation, and bring disaster upon my family, I might as well be a loyal minister. To hell with living!

Soon the two seals were presented by Yue Wenkui. Liu the Lion was examining them when a Plumed Cavalryman reported that Colonel Bee-Sting-Point requested an audience.

Liu Chengzong had him brought in and said with a laugh, "Instead of picking up cannonballs in the city, what are you doing at the prefectural office?"

Attacking a strategic location was exhausting in just this way: as exhilarating as the assault was, the cleanup afterward was just as grueling.

Liu Chengzong needed to use this city of Longzhou too. After all, this was not a front line or a rear area, but a position behind the enemy's line of battle. So the filled-in trenches had to be dug out again, the earthen ramps built for the assault had to be torn back down, and there was even a brickworks set up outside the city to repair the parapets on the wall and the outer rampart wall.

Bee-Sting-Point Zhang Zhen walked into the rear hall carrying a long bundle, his mouth twisting wryly. All he had seen along the way through the prefectural office were corpses. He had figured the wall was where the fiercest resistance had been, but it turned out the prefectural office was.

Spotting Liu Chengzong from a distance, Bee-Tail Needle hurried forward a few quick steps and came up with a smile: "Grand Marshal, the cannonballs are being collected. This humble officer came to offer Your Excellency a fine little trinket."

How to put it — those two running steps of his were pretty fake, but they were still rather pleasing to watch. Then he handed the black satin bundle he was carrying to Liu Chengzong.

Liu Chengzong took the bundle. It weighed about four or five jin. Opening it, he found a short musket inside, exquisitely crafted, with a flintlock mechanism and an Embroidered Uniform Guard inscription carved into the grip — a self-igniting musket.

He was just examining the workmanship of this self-igniting musket when he heard Bee-Tail Needle, looking at the two men lying in the hall, ask: "Oh, Grand Marshal, this one with no hair on his lips — that must be the Garrison Eunuch Li Qimao, right?"

Liu Chengzong handed the self-igniting musket to the Feathered Forest Cavalry, telling them to stow it for now and deliver it to the Armory Bureau after the battle. Only then did he turn to Bee-Tail Needle, nod, and ask: "Anything else?"

"Grand Marshal, that musket isn't the fine trinket this humble officer meant."

Bee-Tail Needle said with a beaming smile: "While searching for cannonballs, this humble officer ran into a few Embroidered Uniform thugs hiding in a civilian house. Killed several of them — all Li Qimao's personal attendants. Kept one alive, and he said there are over four thousand horses in Yao Prefecture. The seal is on this Li Qimao. Just write them a letter telling them to stay put, and we can go take the horses."

"The court has raised horses for the Grand Marshal again — over four thousand of them, all waiting in Yao Prefecture for Your Excellency to come collect them."

The moment Bee-Tail Needle finished speaking, he saw Liu Chengzong casually toss something his way. He caught it before he even realized what was happening, froze for a second, and only then saw clearly that it was the Garrison Eunuch's seal.

"You've been promoted."

Bee-Tail Needle felt a chill run down below his belt.

"You handle this. Write them a letter. Tell them to keep a good watch on my horses."

Having said this, Liu Chengzong turned to the two Yue brothers, his gaze moving back and forth between their faces before settling on the elder brother, Yue Wenyuan. "You've had schooling?"

Yue Wenyuan froze for a moment, not grasping what the Grand Marshal meant... Everyone who entered the Tiger Guard Camp had to study. There wasn't a single illiterate soldier in the Tiger Guard Camp.

Realizing Liu Chengzong was still waiting for his answer, Yue Wenyuan hurriedly said: "Replying to the Grand Marshal, this humble man and his brother studied at the military academy since childhood, and later had the grace of further schooling in the Tiger Guard Camp."

Liu the Lion nodded, pondering. "In that case, the reward for the first to ascend... take it. A hundred men will be drawn from each battalion to assist you."

The seal was tossed into Yue Wenyuan's arms. Only then did he hear Liu Chengzong say: "Acting Prefect of Longzhou. Do well, and the post is yours. Do poorly, and you wait for Zhang Yuanheng to come take over."

Yue Wenyuan stood dazed for a long moment, staring blankly at Liu Chengzong, then lowering his head to look at the official seal, then raising his head to look at Liu Chengzong again. Only then did it suddenly hit him, and he hastily knelt to express his gratitude.

Even as he knelt, he still couldn't figure out how a prefect's post — one that could bring glory to his ancestors — had flown so easily into his arms.

But Liu Chengzong clearly didn't care about that. Longzhou was a loose prefecture, with no counties under it, just a few patrol offices and a single pass under its jurisdiction, governing only a little over a thousand households — not a terribly difficult place to administer.

"You needn't worry about military matters. Senior Colonel Gao has a battalion temporarily stationed in Longzhou. Just keep Longzhou stable."

Having said this, Liu Chengzong added a reminder: "Still, governing a territory involves many concerns. You'll face considerable difficulties just taking over. I won't make things hard for you — seek no great merit, only no great faults."

"Yes! This humble man will reverently heed the Grand Marshal's teachings!"

"As for Wenkui — do you want to stay here and help your brother, or remain in the Tiger Guard Camp?"

Before Yue Wenkui could speak, Yue Wenyuan had already raised his head and said: "Follow the Grand Marshal. Wenkui will stay at the Grand Marshal's side."

Yue Wenkui, seeing Liu Chengzong look his way, thought for a moment and said: "I'll follow the Grand Marshal's orders."

Liu Chengzong smiled. "Then keep following me."

Stepping out of the prefectural office, Liu the Lion calculated the time. He figured Qianyang and Baoji to the south were already surrounded, and Zhang Yichuan west of Qin Prefecture had likely already clashed with Zuo Liangyu. If he didn't go reinforce them soon, they probably couldn't hold out much longer. With that, he called for the Feathered Forest Cavalry, intending to have Gao Yingdeng clean up the mess here, and sent men to order the camp struck.

But before the waiting Feathered Forest Cavalry riders could even reach him, they — still inside the city — heard a cannon shot from the northern outskirts of Longzhou.

"What's going on?"

The moment Liu Chengzong asked the question, the answer had already formed in his mind.

Because the cannon fire from the north hadn't stopped — on the contrary, it was growing denser, mixed with volleys of gunfire.

Without a doubt, fighting had broken out.

Soon, a rider came galloping into the city through the north gate. It was Mountain-Reflecting Red, a Centurion from Gao Yingdeng's division. He tumbled from the saddle and knelt: "Grand Marshal, the enemy is attempting to break out southward — seems they want to ascend Liupan Mountain. They've been blocked at the pass by our troops."

Break out?

Ascend Liupan Mountain?

Liu the Lion wondered — was there really such a good thing?

That was just seeking death.

"Wenkui, go inside and tell your brother — Deng Qi isn't going to look for Tang Jiuzhou anymore."

Liu Chengzong finished speaking and turned to Mountain-Reflecting Red: "Don't block them. Let them go up... Someone, go tell Brigade Commander Wang on the mountain to hold the mountain road tight for me. Once Tang Jiuzhou comes in, don't even think about letting him go back!"