Chapter 21

Xiaquyang, in the history of the early Western Han Dynasty, after Emperor Jing of Han put down the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms, it was established as a county governor's seat. Although it was named Xiaquyang County, it was half a level higher than an ordinary county seat.

"Xia Quyang... Quyang is Quyang, why add the word 'Xia' to anything you do?"

Dian Wei was really troubled by what Qiao Yan said about letting him learn a few words so that they would be useful in the future, so he followed Qiao Yan's example and tried to change the subject.

Cheng Li explained: "When the Qin Dynasty established prefectures and counties, Julu Quyang County was established. When Emperor Gaozu established Hengshan Prefecture, Quyang County was included in it. However, there was still a Quyang in Julu, so they were named Shang Quyang and Xia Quyang respectively."

Dian Wei looked at the map unfolded in front of Qiao Yan and Cheng Li, and spent a long time comparing it with the few characters he knew, but he still couldn't make out the word "Hengshan".

The confusion on his face was so obvious that Qiao Yan couldn't ignore it even if he wanted to.

"Are you wondering why there is no Hengshan Mountain?" Seeing Dian Wei nod, she replied, "Hengshan Mountain was renamed a long time ago to avoid the taboo of Emperor Xiaowen's name."

She pointed to a spot on the map and said, "This is Changshan County."

The Changshan of Zhao Zilong of Changshan.

Dian Wei was still a little dizzy. Xu Fu, who was very fast at memorizing, was much better at understanding than Dian Wei. "That is to say, the former Qin's Julu was divided into the current Julu County and Changshan County, each with a Quyang. Changshan is the upper Quyang, and the one we want to raid is the lower Quyang of Julu."

Seeing that Qiao Yan had no intention of stopping him from speaking, Xu Fu asked, "Xiaquyang is only half a level higher than the ordinary county seat. Since Zhang Bao is defending it, does it mean that it is also a strong city?"

Qiao Yan and Cheng Li looked at each other, and both saw the words "Ruzi is teachable" in each other's eyes.

Cheng Li had a solid foundation of knowledge. Although he could not see that Qiao Yan was intentionally guiding Xu Fu along the way, he thought she was bored and taught Dian Wei and Xu Fu together. However, he could see that Xu Fu was indeed a good student.

In addition, Xu Fu took Qiao Yan as his role model and recently realized the importance of defeating the enemy with wisdom, so he became more proactive in learning.

Cheng Li was 25 years older than Xu Fu. He treated this young man who volunteered to lead the horse as his own son or nephew, and at this moment he also felt a little bit of admiration for his talent.

He began to explain, "In the second year of Gengshi, Wang Lang's rebellion broke out. At that time, Emperor Guangwu was still General Po Lu and was forced to flee south to Xindu. After he captured Tangyang and Bixian, he had more than 4,000 people. He also gained the support of two other forces, bringing together 10,000 people. With these sufficient manpower, he was able to conquer Quyang in the north and Zhongshan State in the upper reaches, and gain a firm foothold. According to this record, Quyang was undoubtedly a strong city. If we attacked the city head-on, it would be impossible to break it without sufficient manpower."

When Qiao Yan and the other two followed Huangfu Song to the Gucheng Mountain, this matter was undoubtedly confirmed.

Gucheng Mountain is located outside Quyang City.

While the infantry were still on the way, Huangfu Song had already led a group of light cavalry to Gucheng Mountain to investigate the enemy situation.

Looking south from Gucheng Mountain, you can see Xiaquyang County below.

In ancient times, the moat was at least five or six meters wide, and in Xiaquyang it was even more than ten meters wide. Qiao Yan looked into the trench and saw that the water in the moat had been temporarily drained.

But the absence of water in the river did not mean that they should relax. Based on the depth of the trench they could roughly judge, it was not difficult to guess that there must be a lot of wooden stakes buried at the bottom of the trench, which would be more difficult to deal with than being surrounded by water on all sides.

There is a row of chevaux de frise in front of the moat, forming a circle outside the city.

"The Zhang brothers almost took over Jizhou, killing officials and burning government offices in the territory. I thought they might be slacking off here, but I didn't expect them to be quite alert."

Huangfu Song couldn't help but frown when he saw the scene in front of him.

Since he wanted a quick victory, it was impossible for him to engage in a stalemate with the enemy by means of a siege. What's more, Zhang Jue's spies were everywhere in Julu County. They had taken a detour through Qinghe River to avoid the enemy's spies. Now, in the battle of Quyang, it was better to move fast rather than slow.

"Fortunately, they are not professional defenders," Cao Cao commented. "If they set up another line of defense behind the moat and the Sheep and Horse Wall to block

If one is blocked, Quyang City will be even more difficult to capture. ”

But this doesn't sound like something to be thankful for.

The situation is already tricky enough.

Qiao Yan couldn't help but glance at Cao Cao.

Fortunately, this guy doesn't seem to be an artistic creation in the novel to increase the laughs, he is really a jinx.

Otherwise, if the city gate were to open at this moment, and a group of people came out and threw a row of caltrops and staghorn wood outside the city, they would be even more helpless.

In her opinion, Xiaquyang's persistence was not too surprising.

Zhang Jiao was able to come up with a system for preaching, and there is no doubt that his thinking was meticulous. In the situation where the Yellow Turban Rebellion had a tremendous momentum that almost overthrew the Han Dynasty, he was by no means a spearhead that only knew how to advance.

The mutual assistance among the three fortified cities and the location of each city closer to the north than the last make it easy to guess Zhang Jue's intention.

He is leaving himself a way out.

If the Han army came from the southwest and was defeated by the Yellow Turbans, they could retreat step by step and defend the city. Or maybe...

Zhang Jue had already guessed that he would most likely die of illness in a few months, so he wanted to leave a way out for his brothers.

If it weren't for the defense of Xiaquyang, it would have been impossible to defeat the Liangzhou army, which was known for its bravery, and defeat Dong Zhuo, who succeeded Lu Zhi in attacking Julu.

Of course, it has not yet been determined whether Dong Zhuo's defeat was due to the strategic conflict between him and Julu Prefect Guo Dian at that time. After all, Lu Zhi is still on the front line against Zhang Jue and has not been dismissed or replaced.

But one thing is beyond doubt:

Xiaquyang is not easy to fight.

Huangfu Song climbed up a bit and stood on the top of Gucheng Mountain, north of Xiaquyang, and continued to look towards the fortified city in the distance.

"If Quyang is built on a mountain, we may be able to climb down from the top of the mountain and launch a surprise attack," Huangfu Song said with some regret. "Also, we can climb up at night and bet that the enemy's guards will not expect us to come from Qinghe County, and we may have a chance to seize the city when the guards are not prepared."

"But it is difficult to see the situation in Xiaquyang from here," Cao Cao replied. "If the garrison in the city rotates in an orderly manner, we will encounter their main force before we can climb the city wall. We will definitely fail to capture the city and may even startle the enemy."

Huangfu Song absolutely did not want to alert the enemy.

They were travelling quickly this time and had screened their personnel, so there was no basis for a direct encirclement.

In this case——

"We still have to find a way to lure Zhang Bao's main force out of the city, or let our people enter the city to carry out an internal and external attack." Huangfu Song came to the conclusion after observing the scene.

Qiao Yan thought so too.

Although she was not as experienced in combat as Huangfu Song, she was looking at things from the perspective of later generations. She applied the historical siege warfare to the situation here and used a method of elimination.

In order to highlight its status, Xiaquyang was built with a city wall that was much thicker than that of an ordinary county town. The gangster tactics of Li Zicheng, where soldiers ran back and forth, dug bricks from the wall, and finally pushed down the wall, were obviously not advisable.

Huangfu Song did not have enough soldiers, so theories like "encircle and attack" and "surround three sides and leave one side open" were of no use.

The only thing left is to lure the enemy or cooperate with them from inside and outside.

Qiao Yan had some ideas about both methods, but when they returned to the military camp where the soldiers had set up camp, the commander-in-chief Huangfu Song had already made the decision.

Send people into the city to cooperate from inside and outside!

"In fact, luring the enemy is feasible, but it is a little dangerous."

Although Huangfu Song did not avoid Qiao Yan to discuss this action, she consciously stood in the back row at this time and chatted with the system, "If someone came to the city to ask to see Zhang Bao, claiming that the great virtuous teacher had died of a sudden illness and now kept the death a secret, and asked Zhang Bao to send troops for help, he might believe it."

"But if there is any secret code between the brothers to communicate with each other, then we can't deceive them. This imperfect method cannot be used."

I don’t know if the system has a kind of almost blind confidence in her recently, and it immediately replied: [If you go, you should be able to fool her. 】

“……”That’s not necessary.

She did want to take advantage of the confrontation between the main force of the Yellow Turbans in Jizhou and the Han army to boost her reputation, but that didn't mean she had to do the dangerous tightrope walking again.

Even though she knew that wealth and honor must be sought through risk, she had no intention of using this method.

Huangfu Song has continued speaking at the top.

He wanted to send people into the city, and the method he used was somewhat similar to what Qiao Yan had used before -

Throw in the thief.

Qiao Yan listened to the system muttering, "It's possible that Huangfu Song came up with this idea because of your influence. I wonder if I can give you some strategist points." At the same time, Huangfu Song, who was at the top of the group, said, "Is there anyone willing to go?"

This is not an easy task.

During a siege, most undercover agents in the city are tasked with opening the city gates and killing enemy soldiers on the city walls. If they are discovered, their death rate will be higher than that of the first echelon of the siege.

Huangfu Song's words were equivalent to recruiting a suicide squad.

But among the border soldiers who came with him, there were quite a few who disregarded life and death, and those who were summoned into the military tent by him were the elites among them. Immediately, there were people who volunteered to enlist one after another.

Huangfu Song felt much more at ease, but suddenly he heard a much more childish voice mixed in among the voices requesting to fight. It sounded particularly clear because it was somewhat out of place.

It was because of her words that the military tent suddenly fell silent.

“I think they can’t go.”

He looked towards Qiao Yan following the sound.

"Why?" Huangfu Song knew that she would not come to such a conclusion casually, and did not show any surprise at being interrupted.

"People who come from the military have some characteristics that are different from others." Qiao Yan's eyes swept over the other people in the military tent and smiled back, "Especially the generals and commanders all have a record of killing many enemies, so they can intimidate the barbarians when they are dressed and lined up. People with such characteristics may have long been accustomed to seeing each other, but in Yan's opinion, they are very different from ordinary people."

After she said this, the old soldiers who were somewhat dissatisfied with her interruption calmed down.

This is a real compliment.

There is an essential difference between being a soldier and being a bandit.

Qiao Yan continued, "General Huangfu, who do you think would choose to join the Yellow Turbans?"

Huangfu Song had thought about this question before. When he was appointed as the Left General of the Central Army and led the troops out, he pondered over and over again, wondering why the Taiping Dao, which had been ignored before and even regarded as a doctor by local officials, had led to the current situation overnight.

The answer may be simple and a little cruel. Those who cannot survive will naturally seek refuge with the others.

But he couldn't give this answer so directly. At most, he would just say "refugees".

Qiao Yan had no intention of arguing with him on this issue, but continued:

"Based on what the general said about the refugees, most of them have difficulty in having a full meal, and their faces are haggard and thin. However, the army uses more meat in its diet to ensure that they can be consumed during combat and marching, and their faces are also different from those of civilians. This is another inappropriate point. Fortunately, there is another type of person who may also join the Yellow Turbans, and they are also on this march."

"You mean... rangers?" Huangfu Song had a flash of inspiration and immediately realized that as Qiao Yan said, there were a group of more suitable people.

Qiao Yan said, "Some of the knights-errant are just as you have seen before. They came to help you break the siege of Changsha and are not afraid of the hard work of the raid. They will march out of Jizhou with you. But I think there will be some who think that the Han Dynasty is seriously ill and it is better to join forces with the Yellow Turbans. They think this is the way to fight for peace in the world, so they are very likely to join the Yellow Turbans."

Huangfu Song nodded and replied: "Yes, the Rangers can indeed take on this task, but they are willing to follow me north, so they are already loyal men of the Han Dynasty. Entering the city to respond to this task will cost them their lives if they are not careful..."

It was really hard for him to say this.

But before Huangfu Song finished speaking, Xu Fu, who had followed Qiao Yan into the military tent, suddenly said, "General, there is no need to say more. I am willing to go!"

Xu Fu did not act rashly.

Make such a decision.

He still has a mother to support in Yingchuan. Although he followed her out of respect for Qiao Yan, he had no intention of joking with his own life.

However, he had seen Huangfu Song organizing his army along the way, and he knew that if there was anyone who could really defeat the Yellow Turbans and save the world, it would probably be General Huangfu.

And with their previous investigation to Gucheng Mountain, and with Qiao Yan, Cheng Yu, Cao Cao and others obviously planning for it, their chances of winning may not be low.

This is what Xu Fu thought, and other people had almost the same idea.

Besides, most of the knights were still young, some even at an age that could be described as "middle school" in modern times. Since they had chosen to follow the army north, they had the idea of ​​making a name for themselves. Now that they heard that they had a chance to compete with the vanguard troops attacking the city, they could not help but be overjoyed.

When Huangfu Song asked other people in the army about this matter, the responses he received accounted for at least 70% to 80%.

Of course, it is hard to explain why so many people gathered in one place, even if they were the rangers that I had made friends with on a daily basis, not to mention that there was not a single person from Julu County among them. Therefore, Huangfu Song only selected more than ten people, including Xu Fu.

What Huangfu Song never expected was that when he ordered his men to distribute some military supplies as a token of their allegiance to these young men who had pledged their allegiance to the Yellow Turbans, before these people set off, he actually saw Qiao Yan sitting on one of the carts.

Even Cao Cao was shocked by her actions, "Why is my niece doing this?"

Qiao Yan asked a question that Cao Cao found difficult to refute: "Uncle, have you ever seen a man who went to the enemy camp to carry out internal and external operations bring his little sister with him?"

"……No."

"Then my going there would be a very suitable cover."

Xu Fu, who was forced to become an elder brother, suddenly felt that the burden on his shoulders was a bit heavy.

Fortunately, he was not the only one responsible for Qiao Yan's safety.

If you have to count it, Dian Wei can also be considered a knight-errant. Just looking at his bandit-like appearance, it would be strange if he was not regarded as a comrade by the rebels.

Huangfu Song wanted to tell Qiao Yan not to do such dangerous things again, but he couldn't convince her with her twisted ideas, so he had no choice but to let her go.

Especially when Qiao Yan asked before leaving, "Among the more than ten people on this trip, is there anyone else besides her who can stand on his own?" It seemed that there was no other answer.

These rangers had not experienced many battles under Huangfu Song's command, and it was difficult for him to know much about the origins and family history of each of them. When he entrusted them with such an important undercover mission, he even felt a little nervous.

But Qiao Yan doesn't need to worry about this important task being handed over to him.

After all, she has proved with her performance that she is a wise person who matures precociously enough.

Seeing that Huangfu Song was still looking in the direction where the group left, with a somewhat dazed look on his face, Cao Cao said, "It's no wonder that she would risk her life. With her intelligence and wisdom, if something happened in the city, she might be able to save the lives of these heroes with her ability to adapt to the situation."

"Besides, since the general has agreed to let her take the risk, what we should do now is to ensure that the siege will not fail and must be successful in one go. Otherwise, this surprise attack will fail, and Zhang Bao will definitely defend it tightly, which will be of no benefit to the war in the north."

Huangfu Song understood Cao Cao's advice.

As the head coach, he should not be indecisive on this matter.

"It's not that I don't know what Meng De said, but I feel that this woman is resolute and intelligent. If she dies here, I will not only be unable to explain to Grandpa Qiao, but I also feel that it will definitely be a regret for the Han Dynasty. But perhaps--"

“Perhaps it is in times of hardship and adversity that heroes are made.”

The group of people who were going away gradually disappeared from his sight. Huangfu Song withdrew his gaze and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

He also had to admit that he really liked this junior more and more.

The group of more than ten people, all wearing cloth and carrying iron swords, walked together to the city of Xiaquyang, just as Qiao Yan said -

Although this is not

They were a group of refugees with pale faces and thin bodies, but when they claimed that they were wandering knights who happened to come here and wanted to seek refuge, they did not arouse the suspicion of the city guards.

Xu Fu did as Qiao Yan had instructed. After the city guards let them in, someone asked him why he brought a young sister with him. He replied, "My sister was sick before, and she was able to prolong her life after the talisman water given by the disciples of the great and virtuous master. I came here to surrender this time and also want to ask the general of the earth to give me a talisman and ask for the blessing of the gods. I just don't know how much merit we need to have to have such an opportunity?"

The Taiping Jing refers to the magic talismans and incantations as "divine blessings", and further says "There are sacred and important words in heaven, which are given to people from time to time to make the gods and officials respond to the air and travel, and the people understand them". The magic talismans are burned to their ashes and drunk with wine and water to treat diseases.

This absurd way of treating illness is a classic superstitious practice. It was impossible for Qiao Yan to remember such a thing before he traveled through time.

But when she was working as a military advisor for Liang Zhongning, she got a copy of the Taiping Jing from him to pass the time. Now she could use some excerpts from it to fill the scene for them.

These words were also repeated by Xu Shu.

This was the first time that the Yellow Turban commander who had let them into the city had seen someone who could explain all these things so clearly and in detail.

He began to murmur in his heart that having such an aware person, who was also capable of wielding a sword, was a great thing for them.

Moreover, in his opinion, bringing female relatives with him was equivalent to bringing a weak spot, which made him look less threatening.

Xu Fu's question about whether the function could be exchanged for the divine talisman water also made him let down his guard.

He patted Xu Fu on the shoulder and said, "If you really want this magic talisman to heal your illness, you should have gone straight to Guangzong. Why did you come here? But you can rest assured. General Digong's magical power is second only to that of the Great Sage Master. If you really come here with sincerity, you will definitely have this opportunity."

"Brother, why don't you want to go to Quzhou Guangzong?" Qiao Yan was still sitting on the cart, covering his lips and coughing twice, "But brother is afraid that the border between Julu and Guangping is in constant war, which is not good for my condition. On the contrary, the area around Quyang is stable under the reputation of General Digong, so it is a good place to go."

"That's indeed the case." replied the young commander.

They are safe here!

He saw that Qiao Yan's frail appearance did not seem fake, and felt deeply for how difficult it was for Xu Fu to be a brother. At this moment, his eyes suddenly fell on Dian Wei.

This person doesn't look like an ordinary person from his physique to his aura!

"I wonder who this person is...?" He saw that although the other party looked a bit fierce, when he tried to force him with his aura, he just looked at him blankly, wondering if he was being too suspicious.

Dian Wei didn't even bring his most skilled heavy halberd this time. If he carried that weapon, no one would believe that he was an ordinary surrenderer. He only brought a sword to ensure that he wouldn't have to fight empty-handed.

When he heard the young commander ask this, he grinned and said, "I just heard that the Yellow Turbans can eat enough. When I traveled with these kids before, they often complained that I ate too much. They said that this cart of food was for you. I thought, since I'm coming here to surrender anyway, it doesn't matter if I eat in advance."

"..." Dian Wei's righteous words left Xiao Qushuai silent.

He looked towards these rangers who came to seek refuge, and saw that their faces showed anger but they dared not speak out. He thought that there was actually a devil among them.

But being able to eat... isn't really a big problem.

With his size, if he could fight and was brave enough, he wouldn't mind being killed by a human.

This kind of guy who just wants to have a full meal is undoubtedly the easiest to control.

After Xiao Qu led his men to fight with Dian Wei, his eyes immediately lit up.

"Tiger General, he really is a tiger general!" He even immediately went to Zhang Bao to tell him about this matter, and he was talking about Dian Wei.

Among the three Zhang brothers, Zhang Bao was entrusted by Zhang Jiao with the responsibility of guarding Xia Quyang, which shows that he is indeed a steady person.

After hearing this, he was not surprised by the young commander's joyful praise, but just asked back:

"Are you sure everything is alright?"

I don't know if it's because I received a letter from my brother a while ago, mentioning that his health was not good, but Zhang Bao has often felt uneasy recently. However, there are many voices around responding to their calls, and the previous Julu prefect had already died at his hands. Logically speaking, as long as the front line is not defeated, there shouldn't be any problem.

Even though he thought so, he still made a routine inquiry without exception.

"There shouldn't be any problem. They brought a girl who is about ten years old with them. They want to ask General Digong to give them a magic talisman to cure their illness. I think the concern of the brother is not fake." Xiao Qushuai replied confidently.

But how could he know that Xu Fu's concern for his sister was not that of a brother, but rather the care of a fan for his idol.

Zhang Bao was obviously not completely relieved by his answer, and asked again: "So how did I tell you to keep an eye on the movements in the west and south?"

He patted his chest and replied, "General Qu, rest assured. Since you asked me to pay more attention, I have never relaxed for a single day. However, the eight passes in Luoyang are blocked, and there are only three or two teams that have the courage to send them out to eliminate the bandits. Now the situation of the battles on all fronts is under the control of the Great Sage Master. Is the general's worry unfounded..."

Before he could finish his words, Zhang Bao kicked him in the leg.

Zhang Bao frowned and shouted, "What do you know? Even my eldest brother has to be cautious with that old scholar Lu Zhi. He has many tricks up his sleeve. Xiaquyang is peaceful today, but that doesn't mean there won't be an attack from the imperial court tomorrow. If anything goes wrong, you'll have to explain to my eldest brother."

"As for the tiger general you mentioned..." Zhang Bao analyzed the information that Xiao Qushuai told him, and indeed he didn't find any problems. He focused some of his attention on Dian Wei, who he described, and said, "Bring him to me tomorrow."

But he probably won't live to see Dian Wei.

This infiltration into Xiaquyang was not unlike the time when Qiao Yan worked under Liang Zhongning.

Because there is no process of gaining trust through achievements or at least spending some time together!

Instead, after sending people into the city, once Huangfu Song saw the signal they had erected in the city from Gucheng Mountain, they would attack directly at night.

We need a quick resolution!

Qiao Yan and his group were arranged a courtyard in the city large enough for them to settle down, thanks to Dian Wei, a powerful general, and Xu Fu, who could talk eloquently about the essence of the Taiping Dao, and had the personal approval of the commander.

As soon as she closed the door, she recovered from her sickly state and began to plan her night action.

It was true that her physical condition was much better than before, and she could swing Huangfu Song's sword on the bank of the Ji River and cut off Bo Cai's head, but Qiao Yan was still very self-aware -

With her current abilities, if she were to go head-to-head with someone, it would be tantamount to courting her own death.

For those soldiers who had experienced real fighting on the battlefield, it would not take much effort to defeat her in a head-on confrontation.

If she could make sure that this bluff could convince the Yellow Turbans in the city, she would have completed most of her mission.

Just now, from the time they entered from the east gate of Xiaquyang to the time they arrived at this temporary resting place, Qiao Yan pretended to be sick and coughed, but in fact he was looking around, trying to find a place to hide temporarily.

She now has a plan in mind.

As for how others can get to the East Gate to assist Huangfu Song, there is also a perfect reason.

Most of the food they brought in the cart was half-heartedly accepted by Xiao Qushuai.

Naturally, they were more willing to accept the offer, since the truck was nominally filled with food, but in reality most of it was meat jerky.

At that time, Xiao Qushuai was thinking about how to report Dian Wei's situation to Zhang Bao and recruit him under his command. He didn't pay much attention to it at all and saved Qiao Yan the speech he had prepared in advance.

Now, among the remaining food, in addition to the steamed buns and white cakes, there are also three or two bags of bran meat.

Xu Fu cooked it with the tools of the place, cut it into thin slices, found something to wrap it up, and sent it to the city at nightfall.

On the head.

The reasons given are quite convincing.

Since they were allowed in, they would become part of the Yellow Turbans. It didn't matter whether they were familiar with other people in the city or not, but they had to build good relationships with the first few people they met.

Especially that Xiaoqu Shuai, who is the second in command in Quyang City. If he can get him to say a few good words in front of Zhang Bao, it will not be difficult for Xu Fu to ask for a talisman water for his sister.

To show their sincerity, none of them brought their own long swords.

After receiving praise from Xu Fu and others, Xiao Qushuai completely forgot that he had been kicked by Zhang Bao today because of his arrogant mentality.

He sat down on the top of the city wall with these people, feeling the cool night breeze and eating the still warm meat. He was so happy.

If it weren't for the fact that he was in charge of guarding the city and had to strictly abide by the rule set by Zhang Bao that he couldn't drink alcohol, he would really like to get himself two pots of wine.

"Luckily you came to see me at this time. If it was late at night, I would have to change my post," said the young commander. "It just so happens that the food in this city, especially meat, is not distributed every day. I will save some to go with my wine."

Xu Fu and another young man who was closest to Xiao Qushuai looked at each other and saw the relief in each other's eyes.

If it were someone else, it wouldn't be so easy for them to come and get close to him.

The slight bit of reluctance in their eyes was quickly forced back by the second half of this guy's words, "This county magistrate of Quyang is really a piece of shit. There are not even a few bottles of wine in the treasury. It's really a matter of drinking a little less. Fortunately, he still has a beautiful wife..."

He seemed to realize that what he said was inappropriate, and he stopped talking immediately, and changed the subject abruptly, "Now that you are all here, is your sister free?"

Xu Fu replied calmly: "Don't worry, she is just a little weak and has already rested."

Of course Qiao Yan didn't rest.

After Xu Fu and others left, she also left her temporary place. After walking two streets, she stopped in front of a water tank at the end of an alley that was used to store water for fire fighting, and jumped in without hesitation.

The layer of moss growing on the outer wall of the water tank was enough to show that it had not been used for a long time, and there were even some cracks in it.

This was the hiding place she had chosen for herself.

She couldn't stay where she was.

Once chaos breaks out in the city, there is no guarantee that someone will not think that it was the good things they did. As for other houses, she didn't have the ability to climb over the walls, and there was no guarantee that she would get into any other trouble.

This place is still very good.

There was only a little water left at the bottom of the jar. Qiao Yan had even been in the Yellow Turban Army, so why would he care about the water that was above his ankles?

She carefully hid herself in this inconspicuous water tank and put the lid back on.

However, the reason she hid here was not just because there was a shelter here, but because looking back at the ancient siege warfare, there was almost no record of street fighting.

This is very different from modern times.

Why is the method of surrounding three sides and leaving one side often used to lure the enemy out of the city and wear down their will to fight to the death? It is because once the city is breached, the most appropriate method is not to stay in the alleys or houses to seek shelter, but to try to break out of the city to save your life.

In this way, this place is much safer than anywhere else.

Almost as she finished this action, Xu Fu suddenly took out a dagger from his arms on the city wall of the east gate.

It was indeed impossible for Xiao Qushuai to get drunk with only meat but no wine to go with it, but he had been chatting with these sensible young men for a while, and his guard had been mostly let down, and there was a bit of laziness in his eyes.

Not to mention that as far as he could see, there was no sign of any enemy attacking from outside the city.

The trenches and chevaux de frise under the city gave him an unparalleled sense of security.

Even when Xu Fu put his hand on his shoulder, he felt that he was too approachable, which made this new guy trust him.

But he drew his knife at this moment!

With sleeves

The dagger did not even reflect a bit of cold light because of the obstruction, and the next moment it caught the other party's eyes, it had already stabbed into his heart.

Xiao Qushuai looked at the young man in front of him in disbelief, only to see that the other's face, which had seemed excited before, now looked particularly calm, as if the act of drawing out the dagger and killing someone had already been carefully considered.

This is obviously not the behavior of an ordinary young ranger!

He still had many questions to ask at this time, but as the dagger was pulled out, he could only fall down unwillingly.

And in his remaining vision, he saw that it was not just Xu Fu who was taking action on the city wall.

The tiger general that he particularly favored snatched the sword of a Yellow Turban soldier and chopped down three of them in a row in a very arrogant manner.

What made his death even more uneasy was undoubtedly——

After the first cry of surprise when someone discovered something was wrong here, what became clearer was not the sound of reinforcements coming from the city, but the sound of horse hooves, footsteps and armor shaking coming from the fields outside the city.

Unfortunately, he could no longer see what kind of team it was.

Xu Fu pushed his dead body aside and ran straight to the capstan on the city wall.

Since Qiao Yan has entrusted him with such an important task and given him such trust and guidance, he must do a good job!

He could see clearly that in front of the team rushing towards him from outside the city, a flag with the words "Huangfu" written on it was fluttering in the wind!

That was exactly the team he was going to meet!