Late Han Dynasty: Did the Yellow Emperor truly descend?

Chapter 125 Willing to Die for the General

After Li Sheng finished speaking, Jiang Qin and Zhou Tai were stunned for a moment.

Jiang Qin came to his senses first and quickly tugged at Zhou Tai's sleeve. The two of them knelt down on one knee together.

Jiang Qin clasped his hands in a fist salute and said loudly.

"General, you have shown me great favor; I, Jiang Qin, am determined to serve you to the death!"

Zhou Tai followed closely behind, his expression excited.

"Zhou Tai is also willing to follow the general."

Li Sheng glanced at them and reached out to help them.

"Get up and speak quickly. Didn't we already say that there's no need for kneeling in the Taiping Army?"

The two then immediately stood up and stood at their sides with their hands at their sides.

Without saying another word, Li Sheng grabbed the two men's arms on either side and headed towards the central army camp.

Outside the tent, several soldiers peeked out and peered in this direction.

A young man lowered his voice.

"Is that someone new? How did they get into the general's tent?"

A man in his thirties next to him poked at the fire with a tree branch without even looking up.

"Jiang Qin and Zhou Tai were the two who charged ahead during today's siege. They seem to have joined the army in Siwu County, but they don't appear to have many fellow villagers. The general just spoke to them specifically, perhaps intending to promote them."

The young man said "Oh," with a hint of envy in his eyes.

"Those two are incredibly lucky..."

The man laughed and threw the branch into the fire.

"Great fortune doesn't come for nothing. If you have the ability, the general will see it. Our general is one of the best in the world."

The young man fell silent, staring blankly at the curtain.

Inside the tent, Li Sheng walked to the map and stood there, with Jiang Qin and Zhou Tai standing behind him.

Li Sheng pointed to the area north of Jianling on the map, where a river meandered by, with several place names marked along its banks.

"This is the Shu River. Following the river westward leads to Liangcheng. Chen Gui's letter invited the Wang clan of Jianling, the Peng clan of Liangcheng, and the Zhao clan to join forces. The Peng and Zhao clans were located in the Liangcheng area. Now Jianling has fallen, and the Wang clan has been captured, but the Peng and Zhao clans must have already received the news."

Now that he had accepted the two men, Li Sheng naturally intended to test them.

At this moment, Jiang Qin stepped forward two paces, looked at the map, and frowned.

"Does the general mean that the Peng and Zhao families will make the first move?"

Li Sheng turned his head and glanced at him.

"That's right. Chen Gui said in his letter that 'reinforcements from the prefecture will arrive soon.' If the Peng and Zhao families receive this news and hear that Jianling has fallen, they will surely be terrified. When people are terrified, they are prone to doing foolish things."

"Whatever your thoughts are, please speak them out."

Zhou Tai suddenly spoke.

"Then hit him."

Four words, resounding with conviction.

Li Sheng glanced at Zhou Tai, his gaze somewhat appraising.

Zhou Tai is a man of few words, but when he does speak, he gets straight to the point without beating around the bush, showing that he is a decisive person.

"Oh? Then, in your opinion, how should we begin?"

Zhou Tai pointed to a ferry crossing south of Liangcheng on the map.

"General, this is the Shu River ferry crossing. If the Peng and Zhao families want to advance eastward, they must pass through here. If we occupy this place first, we will cut off their route."

Li Sheng nodded, then thought for a moment and asked again.

"What about the reinforcements from the direction of the capital?"

Zhou Tai's lips twitched slightly.

"Chen Gui said he would arrive 'soon,' but in my opinion, it will take at least six or seven days. Mobilizing troops and procuring provisions from the capital is no easy task. The Peng and Zhao families, on the other hand, have their own troops stationed locally; they could gather them in a day or two."

He paused, then looked at Li Sheng.

"In my opinion, the best course of action is to seize the ferry crossing as soon as possible."

Jiang Qin, who was standing to the side, nodded in agreement.

The two brothers used to make a living on the water, so they naturally knew the importance of the ferry crossing.

"Excellent! Excellent! Our Taiping Army has gained two great generals!"

Zhou Tai's idea coincided with his.

Faced with Li Sheng's praise, Zhou Tai and the other man quickly waved their hands.

Li Sheng continued.

"I have my own arrangements for seizing the ferry crossing. You two are new to this place and unfamiliar with military affairs, so listen and observe carefully. If you don't understand something, ask Li Shi. He's been with me longer and knows my rules."

The two agreed, and Li Sheng waved his hand.

"Go on, get some rest, you have things to do tomorrow."

Jiang Qin and Zhou Tai left the tent and walked side by side into the camp.

After walking for a while, Jiang Qin let out a long breath and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.

"My palms were sweaty when I was in front of the general just now."

Zhou Tai didn't reply, he just walked on in silence.

Jiang Qin added.

"We've finally made it through. Before, when we were making a living on the water, who looked up to us? Now we've joined the Taiping Army, received land, and are under the general's command. Hey, this kind of life was something we never dared to dream of before."

Zhou Tai didn't respond, but the corners of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly upwards.

As the two passed a camp, several soldiers were sitting and talking. When they saw them coming, they all looked up.

One of the younger ones mustered up his courage and shouted.

"Brother Jiang! Brother Zhou! What did the general say when he asked you to stay and talk?"

Jiang Qin waved his hand, laughing and scolding.

"Go away, go away, it's military secret, why are you asking such nonsense?"

Several soldiers burst into laughter, and someone chimed in.

"Brother Jiang, you're now one of the general's men. Do you mean you won't recognize us when you see us again?"

"fart!"

Jiang Qin turned around, laughed and cursed, and then walked away.

Zhou Tai never turned around, walking at a leisurely pace behind Jiang Qin.

……

Meanwhile, in Liangcheng County, a hundred miles away, Chen Gui had just finished a secret meeting with the heads of the Peng and Zhao clans and was having tea with his son Chen Deng at the post station.

Chen Deng held a cup of tea, his face anxious.

"Father, although the Peng and Zhao families have agreed to send troops, it will take at least five days to gather soldiers and prepare provisions. It will take us five days to assemble three thousand men. If that traitor Li Sheng takes advantage of this time to attack and seize territory..."

"What's the rush?"

Chen Gui put down his teacup, his brows furrowed slightly, and although his tone was calm, there was a hint of worry deep in his eyes.

"Where can Li Sheng go now? Xiapi, Siwu, and Xiaxiang counties are already in his hands, and the other counties are either too far away or occupied by Que Xuan. Even if he wanted to attack north, he would only suffer heavy losses. Jianling City to the north has high walls and thick defenses, and Wang Huan is well-prepared; it could hold out for ten days or half a month without any problem. Once our forces are combined, we can flank him from both sides. Even if Li Sheng had three heads and six arms…"

Before he could finish speaking, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the door.

A scout stumbled in, his face pale and his voice trembling.

"Prime Minister...Prime Minister! Jianling County in the East Sea has...fallen!"

The teacup slipped from Chen Gui's hand and shattered on the ground.

He suddenly stood up, his expression changing drastically.

"What did you say?!"

The scout knelt on the ground, his voice trembling with sobs.

"The south gate of Jianling County has been breached, and the Taiping Army has entered the city! It is said that Li Sheng personally climbed the city wall and single-handedly terrified the defending soldiers, capturing Magistrate Wang Huan alive. The Taiping Army's flags on the city wall have been changed!"

The inn was deathly silent.

The teacup in Chen Deng's hand fell to the ground with a "clatter," splashing scalding tea all over him, but he was completely unaware.

Chen Gui seemed to have had his spine removed instantly, and sat back down in his seat.

He gazed at the deepening twilight outside the window, his fingers unconsciously gripping the armrests of the chair until his fingertips turned white.

Outside Liangcheng City, dusk was falling, and the wilderness was empty.

Chen Gui remained silent for a long time before finally squeezing out a sentence through gritted teeth.

"These Taiping rebels... how can they move so quickly?"

His voice could no longer conceal the shock he had been experiencing.