Chapter 154: Circumstances are stronger than people

"Mother!" The two older children wriggled forward.

"Let go of my mother!"

"Come at me if you dare!"

"Sister-in-law!" The young woman was also shocked.

The older woman was not afraid at all. She even looked at the man in front of her, who held her life in his hands, with a defiant gaze, as if to say, "Do you dare to kill me?"

Enraged, Xu Guanshan forced himself to let go of her hand with only a last shred of reason.

The older woman coughed up a mouthful of bloody phlegm and sneered, "There must be something wrong with the batch of grain you embezzled, right? Otherwise, why would you be so short of food? Do you think that killing Yu'er will make the Jiang Dynasty's infantry obey your orders? Little do you know that there are many loyal and patriotic people in this world. Those who betray their ruler and country will always be betrayed by others. Those who are willing to follow you are all opportunistic and treacherous like you."

Xu Guanshan was clearly furious, his fists clenched so tightly they made a loud cracking sound, as if only in this way could he suppress the urge to strangle someone.

The older woman felt quite relieved to see him like this and continued to mock him, "If you hadn't been so good at putting on an act back then, how could I have spoken up for you in front of my father-in-law? With my father-in-law's prestige in the army, Ya Xian could easily have become the empress. You were just a lowly military officer, and you only rose to the position of infantry commander because of my father-in-law's support. Have you forgotten how you got here now that you're so powerful?"

After days of running around, Xu Guanshan was now in a sorry state, completely unrecognizable as someone who had achieved great success. The sarcasm in his words was too obvious, but he held back.

A traitor emerged from the infantry, and the planned supply of provisions was lost. Xu Guanshan intended to take this confiscated Northwest Army's provisions to the south, find a city that was easy to defend and difficult to attack, recruit refugees, and become a local tyrant there.

But now there is no food, and his personal guards are showing signs of mutiny. The most urgent task at present is to obtain food.

"Sister-in-law," Xu Guanshan suddenly adopted a warm expression, "as you can see, there's absolutely no food on this road. The food I brought with me is almost gone. If you don't want to eat human flesh, I won't force you. But you have to think about your two nephews. They're in the prime of their lives. Can you bear to let them starve to death?"

The older woman immediately became alert. "What do you want to do?"

Xu Guanshan smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Thirty miles to the east is Yangcheng. The prefect of this city, Hu Wen, is of the same clan as your Hu family. I sent a few people disguised as refugees to scout ahead, but they were driven back by arrows shot from the city wall. I guess there must be a lot of food in the city."

"Stop dreaming! These days, even blood relatives can turn against each other, so why should a distant relative give me face?"

Xu Guanshan drew his sword from his waist and held it against the eldest son of the elderly woman. "Well, there's nothing I can do. So many people need to eat. If you leave one of you, you can negotiate with your two brothers-in-law. The rest can only be used to fulfill their purpose."

"You!" The older woman was furious. She knew Xu Guanshan was a madman who could harm even his own son, let alone his nephew who was a distant relative.

However, circumstances forced him to temporarily yield. "What do you want me to do?"

Xu Guanshan sheathed his sword, and a genuine smile finally appeared on his face. "Sister-in-law is a smart woman. You'd better not say anything foolish in the future."

Xu Guanshan then personally led the Hu family to Yangcheng. Before they even started knocking on the gate, arrows began flying down from the city tower.

"Anyone who approaches the city gate shall die!"

Xu Guanshan's face was grim, but he still shouted loudly, "We are from the Hu family, and we are relatives of your prefect. Please help us spread the word!"

Xu Guanshan pointed to the older woman beside him who had been untied, "This is Madam Hu, the wife of the Left Commander of the Imperial Guards, and the eldest daughter-in-law of General Hu Buwei."

"The Prefect has ordered that anyone who approaches the city gate shall die! If you dare to take another step forward, do not blame my arrows for being merciless!"

Xu Guanshan's face turned ashen.

The older woman almost burst out laughing. "See? In chaotic times, everyone's scheming and plotting. What good are relatives anyway!"

Xu Guanshan wasn't sure how many troops were in Yangcheng, but judging from their lavish use of arrows, Yangcheng's defenses were definitely not weak. If he tried to fight them head-on, his small force might be wiped out here.

Despite his deep reluctance, Xu Guanshan still led his men away from Yangcheng.

"Check towards the capital and see where those two good-for-nothings are. Why haven't they caught up yet?"

Xu Guanshan had a very good plan. He figured the Hu brothers must still have some grain, so he would rob them.

The older woman, her hands and feet bound again, guessed Xu Guanshan's plan. She couldn't help but worry for her husband and brother-in-law, hoping they would slow down and wait until Xu Guanshan couldn't hold on any longer and had to start attacking other cities.

However, things didn't go as planned. Xu Guanshan had just sent someone out when the Hu brothers arrived with their cavalry.

Before the two could figure out what was going on, Hu Xinghai exclaimed happily, "Brother-in-law, what are you doing here? Have you made arrangements for my sister and nephew?"

Xu Guanshan's personal guards were quite perceptive; upon seeing the Hu brothers approaching on horseback, they immediately and discreetly blocked the Hu family members from their sight.

Xu Guanshan walked over, touching the sword at his waist. The Hu brothers also dismounted, ready to catch up.

The two brothers never expected that Xu Guanshan, who had greeted them with a smile, would suddenly make a move.

Hu Xinghai stared blankly at the large knife stuck in his abdomen. What had happened?

"Brother-in-law...you..."

Before he could finish speaking, he collapsed.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Xu Guanshan struck unexpectedly, delivering a fatal blow to Hu Xinghai when he was off guard, but he wasn't so lucky as to have a second chance.

After a brief moment of shock and anger, Hu Yuntian immediately swung his sword, his body moving faster than his mind, determined to kill Xu Guanshan.

"My husband!" the young woman cried out in anguish.

Hu Yuntian looked in the direction of the sound and found that their family members were bound hand and foot, like lambs to the slaughter, and their movements naturally became slow.

Xu Guanshan seized the moment of his hesitation, created some distance, and had his personal guards fill in.

"Put down your weapons, or I'll kill them!"

As soon as Xu Guanshan finished speaking, the guards surrounding the Hu family immediately raised their butcher knives.

Hu Yuntian's eyes were bloodshot with rage. He looked at his brother's corpse, then at his living relatives, and finally dropped his weapon.

The troops that had come with the Hu brothers lost their will to fight when they saw that one of the brothers was dead and the other was captured. They were subdued by Xu Guanshan's personal guards in less than a quarter of an hour.

Xu Guanshan smiled with satisfaction, "A glimmer of hope appears after a long period of darkness, and the Hu family is truly my lucky star."