Chapter 373: Unexpected (Part 3) [Two-in-One]

The messenger from Lu County looked at the "Lu" banner, stained with dried blood and half-burnt but still standing tall, dismounted, and took a few quick steps. Ignoring the filth on the ground, he knelt down with a thud, the dull thud making one's knees ache.

His eyes were bloodshot, and tears streamed down his face uncontrollably.

He bowed deeply to the city wall.

I am also grateful to God for His mercy.

The Lu Xia Commandery held out, successfully stalling for the arrival of reinforcements.

He sobbed and wept with great emotion, but no one around him laughed at him for it—putting themselves in his shoes, they were probably even more emotional than the messenger, knowing that before arriving at the capital, they all thought that the capital of Luxia County had already fallen.

If we fall, well...

As news of the misdeeds of these vagrants and bandits spread far and wide, who didn't know what would happen if they were targeted by these locusts?

Nine out of ten houses were empty, and corpses littered the fields.

The brutal methods used in the massacre were no less than those used by Zheng Qiao back then, and perhaps even more so, leaving people in awe.

It should be noted that, in the eyes of many outsiders, Zheng Qiao's methods were not considered ruthless—because Zheng Qiao only allowed his soldiers to plunder and amass wealth in the first seven days after the city fell.

After these seven days, no more evil deeds are allowed.

As for the widespread massacres reported by the outside world...

It is also because common people will stop at nothing to protect their money. There are no places they dare not hide their wealth, only places you can't imagine. After conquering a city, the victorious side will use human heads to intimidate the common people in the city in order to force them to hand over their money. They will inevitably "kill the chicken to scare the monkey" to see whether they think material possessions are more important or their heads are more important.

Killing too many people amounts to a massacre.

The plundering of women and children for pleasure can only be considered an "additional item".

It is called—

He rewarded his brothers who had accompanied him on his campaigns.

A lord who leads his brothers to wealth and success together can win the support of his troops and the loyalty of his soldiers.

This is basically an unspoken rule—brothers leave their hometowns, follow you to fight in the north and south, risking their lives to fight, they must be after something in return.

Who would be willing to fight and risk their life if they weren't offered benefits?

Soldiers are human too; they also need to support their families.

Is the military pay enough?

Or is it because they've given me enough status and fame?

The meager military pay wasn't even enough for a soldier to eat, let alone send home to support his parents, wife, and children.

The biggest source of income for soldiers is the "extra money" earned after conquering cities and seizing territories! Furthermore, blocking someone's path to wealth is like killing their parents, and this is how other soldiers make their money.

The so-called "no disturbance to the public, no robbery" practices are extremely rare.

If even the "regular army" with its own pay and provisions was in such a state, what about the displaced people and bandits who lacked nothing but food? To force ordinary people to hand over their money and provisions, their methods would only be more thorough, ruthless, and decisive!

If the capital of Luxia County were to fall, not only would no one be left alive in the city, but not even a live chicken, duck, or earthworm. Even the eggs laid by old hens would be carried away in one's bosom. The survivors would be the lucky ones who were good at hiding.

The messenger's relatives were all in the capital city.

The city was not destroyed, and the family members were still alive.

Isn't this something to be excited and cry over?

There's nothing shameful about it.

The messenger cried until his voice was hoarse. The guards on the city wall saw the large horde of people and, thinking it was another attack by bandits, hurriedly sent word. Ignoring his sore throat, the messenger channeled his inner energy and amplified his voice throughout the entire city wall.

"They are not enemy troops!"

"It's reinforcements!"

"The four prefectures of Heyin, Tianhai, Shangnan, and Yiru have come to our aid! We are fortunate to have fulfilled our mission and earnestly request that Lord Lu come out of the city for an audience!"

Squeak—

Before long, the dilapidated city gate, covered in patches, opened.

A guard ran out.

The guards carefully observed the messenger, took the token from the Prefect of Lu, and immediately turned back to the city. After waiting for nearly a quarter of an hour, Prefect Lu hurriedly rode out of the city under the protection of two squads of guards. However, the messenger's face was somewhat dark.

Shen Tang rode on the back of the motorcycle.

He clasped his hands in greeting: "Lord Lu, it's good to see you again. We parted ways in Sibao County last year, and I never expected to meet you like this. How is the city? We received the news and rushed here as fast as we could, but we were delayed by tens of thousands of bandits ambushing us on the way."

Shen Tang's mouth can't stay still.

In addition, she didn't like to exchange useless pleasantries with people, so she took the initiative to speak and get straight to the point.

Prefect Lu was also a tall and strong middle-aged man.

He has a thick beard.

However, his eyes were narrow and slanted downwards, giving him a rather mean and sinister appearance that made him unlikable.

Shen Tang genuinely disliked him and even had a falling out with Prefect Lu during their alliance. The other party favored rugged, masculine men, while Shen Tang at that time was short and beautiful, exactly the type he disliked most.

Let's not talk about these grudges now.

Prefect Lu carefully examined Shen Tang, barely managing to match him with the person from a year ago, and asked, "Why have you only arrived now?"

His tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction and accusation.

Shen Tang: "???"

Shao Chong retorted, displeased, "How dare you speak like that?"

The person in charge of Tianhai and Yiru also turned pale.

The most embarrassed of all was the messenger from Luxia County.

Over ten thousand troops rushed to the rescue, and while they wouldn't be overwhelmed with gratitude, they certainly didn't act like this. It was as if someone owed them something. Did they think the rebel bandits weren't attacking fast enough and wanted a different opponent?

Upon hearing this, the subordinates beside him changed their expressions drastically and hurriedly jumped out to smooth things over, apologizing to Shen Tang repeatedly.

"Lord Shen, please forgive me, Lord Shen, please forgive me. My lord did not mean to offend you. It is only because I lost my young son on the battlefield today that I spoke incoherently due to excessive grief. My lord, Lord Shen disregarded past grievances and righteously sent troops to aid us. He is a great benefactor to the thousands of common people of Luxia County... How could you, how could you say such a thing? If word gets out, he will be ridiculed by the heroes of the world..."

The subordinate who spoke was of a high rank.

He's probably a relative of the Prefect of Lu.

Being rebuked and criticized by his subordinates in front of outsiders, Prefect Lu's face darkened further. He pursed his dry, chapped lips, as if anger was brewing in his chest, his cheeks taut. However, in the end, he forced himself to suppress his emotions.

He exhaled a breath of stale air.

He stiffly bowed and apologized to Shen Tang: "Nothing in life is more tragic than a parent outliving their child. Today, my youngest son has died, and I am truly... heartbroken and devastated... I spoke without thinking, and I beg Your Excellency's forgiveness. Another day, I will certainly hold a banquet to formally apologize and make amends to Your Excellency..."

Then?

And then that was it. They didn't even invite Shen Tang into the city to welcome him or properly entertain the reinforcements who had come from afar... Were they planning to have the army spend the night outside the city?

Shen Tang prides herself on being a "great philanthropist" and a "good old woman," but being kind doesn't mean she's a pushover! She went through all sorts of hardships to provide aid—though her aim was to keep the refugees and bandits out of He Yin's territory, allowing her to fight freely on their land without worrying about injuries. But regardless, her intentions were good.

Hey you, surnamed Lu, I'm your mother-in-law!

Shen Tang cursed inwardly.

Just as he was about to retort, the same subordinate stepped past Prefect Lu and cautiously said, "It's getting late. Prefect Shen and the generals have come all this way to rid the people of this scourge. If you don't mind, why not stay the night in the city? However, Lu County has suffered greatly from the plundering of bandits, and we don't have anything good to offer you all... Please forgive us, Prefect Shen..."

Shen Tang chuckled inwardly.

She inwardly pursed her lips, a hint of displeasure in her voice: "Fine, we won't be short of food. Now that the bandits have retreated and the crisis at our city has been averted, we plan to stay outside the city for the night and search for the bandits' trail tomorrow. If they have already changed course and gone elsewhere, we will head back."

Upon hearing this, the officials immediately became anxious and kept giving the ashen-faced Prefect Lu meaningful glances.

He overstepped his bounds and stepped on his foot, exasperated, saying, "My lord!"

Prefect Lu said, "Wait!"

Shen Tang looked at him coldly.

Prefect Lu took a deep breath, adopting an exceptionally humble posture, and invited Shen Tang into the city in a tone that was both pleading and reluctant. Shen Tang was puzzled and became somewhat wary, but said, "In that case, thank you for your trouble."

After he finished speaking, the tense and stiff atmosphere suddenly eased.

Prefect Lu personally led Shen Tang into the city.

Shen Tang secretly exchanged glances with Chu Yaokang.

Something just feels off.

But I'm not sure.

When the Four Treasures Prefectures formed an alliance, Prefect Lu looked down on Shen Tang—well, actually it wasn't just Prefect Lu, most of them had this terrible attitude, supposedly because it was related to Shen Tang causing trouble while drunk.

Shen Tang expressed that he was wronged.

She has bad drinking habits, not bad character.

How can we condemn them all at once?

Besides, what does the bad thing that Shen Tang did while drunk have to do with Shen Tang when she was sober? You can't hold someone accountable for their actions!

Just looking at the marks on the city walls doesn't give you a sense of how fierce the battle was. It wasn't until you entered the city and saw the scattered corpses lying in the city gates, most of them bandits dressed in tattered coarse cloth, and broken gate-blocking stones and wooden pillars lying quietly... This shows that the bandits once broke through the city gates and stormed into the outer city... The city was in dire straits several times!

At a rough estimate, there are several hundred.

The city walls were already like this, and the outer city walls were even worse.

Seeing Shen Tang frown and look sorrowful, his subordinates said, "The fierce battle has just ended, and we haven't had time to send anyone to clean up yet."

Shen Tang waved her hand, indicating that she didn't mind.

It's a pity these people died under mysterious circumstances. If the world hadn't been so difficult, they wouldn't have been forced into banditry and met their end here. This scene further strengthened Shen Tang's resolve to protect the people of He Yin. As long as she remains the ruler of He Yin, she will not allow these things to intrude into her territory and disrupt her affairs.

Wherever they find them, pin them down there!

He was found drowning in the latrine!

The Prefect of Lu hosted a banquet for the envoys from several families.

In addition, fine wine and food were prepared to entertain the more than 10,000 soldiers. Shen Tang secretly ordered Bai Su to keep an eye on the fine wine and food to see if anyone had tampered with them. Bai Su was puzzled: "My lord, do you mean that this man surnamed Lu is trying to harm us?"

But why?

They are reinforcements, not here to attack the city.

If we kill them, the displaced people and bandits will turn around and attack the capital of Luxia Commandery again. Judging from the current defenses, the capital cannot withstand the next attack. At this time, using intrigue against our allies is tantamount to giving ourselves poison!

Shen Tang said, "Be careful when you're out and about."

Better safe than sorry.

Although Bai Su didn't understand, she still accepted the order.

Chu Yao asked, "Has the lord also discovered the problem?"

Shen Tang nodded: "There is indeed a problem. You said, what are city gates and fortifications? They are the vital points of a city! The enemy once breached the outer city. In such a critical situation, why are you so confident that the repelled enemy won't take advantage of their fatigue to launch a second attack? The right thing to do is to clear the corpses from the fortifications first, then move stones, or even use corpses to block the gates..."

Aside from this one problem, everything else is fine.

Prefect Lu really had no motive to harm anyone.

Since we're already here, leaving for this reason would be like alerting the enemy. Secondly, if they have no problems and are simply too busy killing to clear the city walls and set up defenses, Shen Tang's actions would only bring him infamy.

The debt of gratitude for their previous rescue has also been erased.

I've made enemies for no reason.

This intelligence was also passed on to the other three companies.

We need to stay alert tonight and not let our guard down.

If the food is fine, eat and drink as usual, just enough to avoid arousing suspicion. Wait until it's fully light before making any plans. No one objected.

For safety reasons, Kang Shi, Xianyu Jian, Gong Shuwu and others did not attend the banquet, but made up an excuse to keep them there.

Zhao Feng and Chu Yao followed.

Shao Chong's Gu mother had just been suppressed, and it was not advisable for him to appear in this situation, so he only sent a subordinate official as his representative. Tianhai and Yiru made similar arrangements. The Lu Xia County side was unaware of the four families' military strength and thus remained oblivious.

Despite the hardships and poverty, the banquet for welcoming guests was still decent, with plenty of wine and meat.

Prefect Lu also arranged some simple songs and dances, but having just lost his son, he was not in the mood for meat and wine, so he substituted vegetarian dishes and tea.

Shen Tang also expressed his understanding.

After all, she can't hold her liquor.

The two drank tea, and before long, Bai Su's message arrived—there was no problem with the rice and grain to entertain the more than 10,000 soldiers, and there were no suspicious people watching their temporary camp.

Shen Tang calmly processed this intelligence.

Isn't she being too suspicious?

As the atmosphere at the table warmed up, the others gradually loosened up their eating and drinking. Compared to Prefect Lu's sour face, the subordinate was quite enthusiastic. He personally came down to urge everyone to drink, his mouth gurgling and his words were eloquent and pleasant to hear.

Shen Tang received the most toasts.

I poured a whole pot of tea.

By the light of the candles in the room, she saw the other officials and staff of Prefect Lu and casually asked, "Hey, Lord Lu, where was your advisor when the Four Treasures Prefectures formed an alliance last time?"

The Prefect of Lu asked, "Who is it?"

Shen Tang gestured and said, "A short, small strategist with a goatee, who looks to be in his forties..."

Prefect Lu said with a dark face, "I don't have such a person by my side. Lord Shen must have remembered wrong..."

He admired tall, strong, and masculine men, like himself—real men, true heroes. Anyone shorter than his neck, thin as a bamboo pole, was, in his eyes, a flawed, fake man. He wouldn't even employ him, let alone take him to such an important alliance meeting. And since Shen Tang's description was so clear, she must have misremembered.

Shen Tang smiled awkwardly and apologized to the other party.

He thought to himself, "This can't be fake..."

The so-called "goatee strategist" was naturally a fabrication Shen Tang made up to deceive Prefect Lu. The other party's natural reaction clearly indicated that it was the real person and not some disguise. Just as Shen Tang was gradually letting her guard down, she noticed that among the officials of Lu County, the middle-aged man who was a Prefectural Governor and dressed as a strategist had a physique... that didn't quite fit Prefect Lu's aesthetic standards.

Tsk tsk tsk—

Shen Tang's guard was raised.

By subtly drinking tea, he gave Chu Yao and Zhao Feng a knowing look, and the two understood perfectly.

The rest of the group were coaxed into drinking cup after cup by the eloquent subordinate, but the alcohol content of the liquor in this era was not high, and one person could drink three or five jars without showing any signs of drunkenness, let alone the fact that most of them were scholars with literary minds and warriors with martial prowess. Drink!

After several rounds of drinks and five courses of food,

Even the best drinker has a limit.

As someone collapsed onto the food table with a thud, Shen Tang continued chatting with Prefect Lu—actually, it was her chatting, while Prefect Lu listened patiently. Hearing the noise, she turned her head, raised an eyebrow, and sneered, "Sigh, with that kind of drinking capacity, tsk tsk tsk!"

Prefect Lu: "..."

Although he didn't say anything, his expression and eyes said it all. Shen Tang's drinking capacity was well-known.

How can someone who can't even finish one cup laugh at someone who can drink several jars?

Shen Tang didn't blush at all.

When they had almost finished talking, she suddenly asked Prefect Lu, "Hey, this Prefect looks unfamiliar; I've never seen him before... Hey, just by looking at him, I can tell he's a talented person..."

Prefect Lu: "..."

He knew Shen Tang was unreliable, but he didn't expect this guy to spout such nonsense in a serious setting. He glanced in the direction Shen Tang was looking, then casually looked away and said, "Of course you haven't seen him. He didn't go to Sibao County with us before..."

Shen Tang asked with a smile, "May I ask your name, sir?"

(ω)

This chapter has been expanded with an additional 500 words.

I'll see if I can add another thousand words tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)