Chapter 730: A Series of Scams (Part 1) [Two-in-One]

The sudden appearance of such a troop in the darkness would frighten anyone, but once they could see the flags raised by the flickering firelight, their tense nerves relaxed.

The guard pointed in the direction of the flag and shouted, "It's the general!"

Upon closer inspection, it really is one of our own.

The guard hurriedly climbed down the watchtower and delivered the message to the deputy general in charge of the city. The deputy general had drunk quite a bit, and a hint of intoxication crept onto his cheeks. Hearing this, he barely managed to stay alert, circulating his martial energy to expel the excess alcohol from his body, and his eyes became much clearer.

"The general is back?"

He hurriedly put on his combat boots and armor.

The guards on the city wall quickly identified the soldiers below and ordered the soldiers at the city gate to open it. A heavy creak echoed as the gate swung open. The deputy general and his men were already waiting below the gate; as they approached, they smelled the blood emanating from the soldiers.

The lieutenant asked the leader, "Why do you look like this?"

He recognized this man; he was a fellow townsman and brother of the general. While not particularly strong, he was adept at social maneuvering and his flattery was masterful. The general liked to take him everywhere. Because of this, many soldiers looked down on him, considering him lacking in integrity.

"We encountered the bandits' army after leaving the city for half a day. After a fierce battle, we killed more than a thousand of them and captured two thousand." His armor was covered in blood, the sticky blood on his cheeks had long since dried, his right arm was tucked with his helmet, and he had wounds all over his body.

Upon hearing this, the lieutenant was overjoyed and exclaimed, "This is great news!"

The general's fellow townsman, however, could not relax. He sighed, "This is certainly a good thing, but the battle between the two sides was rushed, allowing that traitor to break through with his men. The traitor's forces were no match for the general, and they were all killed and scattered. The general ordered us to escort the prisoners back."

The lieutenant glanced casually at the soldiers.

Except for a few whose clothes were relatively clean, most of them looked like they had been pulled from a sea of ​​blood. They were huddled together, and the overwhelming aura of bloodlust made even a seasoned veteran like him want to cover his nose. The battle between the two sides was fierce; how many people must have died to reach this scale?

The lieutenant asked, "Does the general have any further instructions?"

The general's fellow townsman shook his head: "He didn't give any instructions, just told his subordinates to go back and rest well. In three to five days, he will be able to take down the head of the traitor and present it to the king to claim credit and reward."

The lieutenant, unsuspecting, recognized several familiar faces in his ranks—all favorites of the general, characterized by their lack of real strength but exceptional silver tongues. He waved for them to enter: "Then let's go into the city first..."

The general's fellow townsman smiled obsequiously and gestured for them to follow.

The lieutenant was ahead, and after his horse had gone a few steps, he followed up with a probing question: "Has the general said how to deal with the prisoners?"

The general's fellow townsman said, "They said it's up to you to handle."

Not all prisoners were used as "prey" for hunting. Generally, the military commanders would first select some to bolster their forces, while the rest, the less desirable ones, would either serve as cannon fodder or perform the most arduous and exhausting corvée labor. This was a valuable resource.

Whoever gets to choose first will get the best.

Upon hearing this, the lieutenant's face lit up with joy: "Really?"

The general's fellow townsman nodded: "Of course it's true."

Two thousand prisoners, and two thousand prisoners who could follow the rebels on raid missions—the proportion of elites must be quite high. Thinking of this, the lieutenant suddenly remembered something and demanded an answer in a stern voice.

"Where is the general?"

The general's fellow townsman's expression stiffened almost imperceptibly for a moment.

It was just that the darkness of the night made it difficult to notice.

He replied, "The general has led his troops to pursue the sunken bandits."

The lieutenant then asked, "How many men did you bring?"

The general's fellow townsman said, "Several hundred people."

The lieutenant was deeply worried, looking as if he wished he could sprout wings and fly to the general's side to stand by him through thick and thin: "Foolish! Why didn't you tell me sooner? How can a few hundred men deal with the remnants of the Shen bandits?"

His stern attitude was just an act, for show. Once the general returned in triumph and learned of this, he would naturally value him even more.

Just as the general's fellow townsman was wondering how to respond, a young man standing behind him suddenly spoke up, proudly declaring, "How could it not be possible? The general is invincible, and even the mere bandits of Shen have to avoid his sharp edge. Besides, the morale of the Shen bandits is low; a few hundred men would be enough!"

The lieutenant disliked being interrupted, so he glanced over. The blood-stained face was unfamiliar; he didn't think he'd seen it before. Judging by its attire, it wasn't someone important. He said irritably, "Hmph, who gives you the right to speak here?"

The general's fellow townsman quickly pulled the deputy general aside and gave him a meaningful look.

The lieutenant said, "What's going on? Does this brat have some kind of background?"

The general's fellow townsman said, "He is someone the general recently found. The general is still very fond of him, so naturally you haven't met him."

Upon hearing this, the lieutenant immediately understood. His thick, dark eyebrows furrowed so tightly they could trap a mosquito, and a look of disdain flashed in his eyes: "Hmph, even so, he has no right to interrupt here. What does he know about fighting? The general is brave and valiant, but the enemy is cunning and treacherous."

In the deputy general's opinion, several hundred men were still too few.

However, this is precisely the general's style of doing things.

Ambitious and stubborn.

As they spoke, the entire army entered the city, and the prisoners were imprisoned. It was late at night, and the deputy general had barely settled in, having just taken a couple of sips of wine, when the general's fellow townsman arrived with the general's new lover. He was in a good mood and showed no displeasure at being disturbed while drinking: "What brings you all here?"

The general's fellow townsman, his face ashen, said, "I just closed my eyes for a short nap and dreamt that the general had fallen into the villain's trap. Not only me, but he dreamt about it too... If this is true... what should we do..."

The deputy general spoke with righteous indignation: "The man of Qi who worried about the sky falling."

My heart started pounding too.

But the general's fellow townsman didn't think so. He said sadly, "Our current glory and wealth all depend on the general. If anything were to happen to the general... even death a thousand times would not be enough to atone for our sins..."

Seeing his appearance, the deputy general also lost his confidence.

At this moment, the young man clasped his hands and said, "Would the Vice General be willing to lend me five hundred soldiers? I am willing to lead troops to your aid."

The deputy general was naturally unwilling to borrow troops.

Just as they were about to say that this matter needed further consideration, a whistle suddenly rang out from outside the city, and the three lieutenants rushed out. A soldier covered in blood rode swiftly towards them from outside the city. The city gate opened a crack just wide enough for one person and one horse, and then closed again.

"Report! Urgent dispatch within 300 li!"

The soldier presented a token with both hands.

The three men were shocked upon seeing the token, with the deputy general reacting most strongly, as this token belonged to the general and was all too familiar to him. The soldier delivered the token, along with exciting news: the general had led his troops to catch up with the remnants of the Shen rebels, but the rebels, facing certain death, had launched a desperate last stand. The general's forces were unable to hold them off and needed reinforcements.

The boy hurriedly said, "Let me go!"

However, his request to join the battle was resolutely rejected by the deputy general.

The boy angrily retorted, "Why won't you grant my request, brat?"

The lieutenant looked mockingly at the boy's face, which, after a little tidying up, revealed its handsome and voluptuous features. No wonder the general was fond of him, but fondness as it may be, how could he entrust such an important task as reinforcement to a piece of trash? This was a great opportunity to make a great contribution.

He has been following the general here for several years, but the benefits he has gained have become fewer and fewer. He rarely has the opportunity to make a contribution, so how can he let it fall into the hands of others?

The deputy general dismissed the two men with a few words, then decisively ordered over two thousand men to be mustered and sent out of the city to provide support. His trusted confidants remained in charge of guarding the city gates. As the city gates creaked open, the deputy general led his troops out of the city, leaving with the messenger.

The general's fellow townsmen and the boy watched them go from the city walls.

When the reinforcements had vanished without a trace, the boy's expression suddenly changed, a half-smile playing on his lips as he looked at his fellow countryman, the general, whose hands hung limply at his sides. The general's fellow countryman still wore a smile, but inwardly, cold sweat was pouring down his back. He hadn't forgotten how this boy, without batting an eye, had crushed two disobedient colleagues with his bare hands. Just as the boy's fingertips were about to touch his neck, he frantically begged for mercy.

I did consider turning back at the last minute along the way.

He knew, however, that the boy was so close that he could easily send him to his death the moment he showed the slightest sign of anything amiss. He was afraid of death and dared not act rashly. He obediently did whatever the boy told him to do.

result--

The deputy general, along with more than two thousand soldiers, was tricked out of the city by the boy.

The remaining troops in the city were unable to resist without any precautions, and the situation was already decided. He could only accept his fate.

Clearly, the boy was not satisfied with this.

The boy then ordered him to impersonate the general and relieving himself of his command, to relocate the guards in several key locations overnight. The streets and government offices were of paramount importance. The guards didn't suspect much; the general's deeply ingrained reputation for brutality made them hesitant to question him.

This led to a dramatic change in the situation before dawn.

The soldiers on the city wall were completely bewildered when they saw their "own men" grinning and brandishing their weapons, ready to kill anyone who resisted. Their minds were filled with questions like, "Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?" Who was plotting a mutiny?

Inside the military camp, resistance was quickly suppressed.

Before dawn, Lu Ji kicked the flag on the city wall and broke it.

"Give me your grandma and I'll go downstairs!"

He concentrated his martial energy on the flagpole in his hand, planted it hard, and was done for!

The flag had a large character "沉" (chen, meaning sink) written on it!

In the morning, the vendors who came out to do business near the city wall had a vague feeling that something was wrong today. They thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure it out, so they simply stopped thinking about it. After finishing their work, the vendors sat down to rest for a while, saw the flags on the city wall, and slapped their thighs.

"Oh dear, the flag is different now."

A commoner who frequented the stall laughed and cursed, "You're just a blind peasant, how do you know the words on the flag?"

Vendor: "I can't read, but the colors are different!"

Upon hearing this, the common people also looked up at the flags on the city wall, and sure enough, the flags were different colors.

But what does this have to do with them?

One person said, "Perhaps they disliked the previous flags and ordered the embroiderers to make new ones. They must have too much free time."

The group of people were completely taken aback by the possibility of the city changing hands.

It's no wonder they were caught off guard. There was no commotion last night; if the power were to change hands, wouldn't there be a full-blown battle all night? Not only were the common people surprised, but even the low-ranking officials in the city government offices were caught off guard. They came to clock in as usual for their duties…

If you really want to know where the difference is?

Perhaps it was because there were some unfamiliar faces in the government office.

One of the boys sat casually on the tiger-skin mat at the head of the table, with a pile of open scrolls scattered on the floor. The clerk in charge of the area was furious and stepped forward to pull the boy up, shouting, "Is this a place for you to sit?"

He was pinned down before he could even touch the boy.

With his hands twisted behind his back, he bent over and couldn't lift his head.

The boy waved his hand and said, "Let him go."

"only."

The clerk, bewildered at regaining his freedom, felt the lingering pain in his arms. He dared not be disrespectful to the boy again, standing trembling and confused to one side. Until the boy spoke up and asked, "Are you familiar with the entire government office?"

He nodded, still bewildered, "Familiar, very familiar."

The boy waved to him: "Take two steps forward."

The lowly official, trembling with fear, did as instructed.

The boy didn't harm him; he simply asked about the daily operations of the government office in a calm tone, which the clerk happened to know and answered. The boy, whose origins were unknown, frowned and cursed, "Trash."

He then said, "I understand. You may leave."

The junior official, bewildered, respectfully took his leave.

When he returned to his post and saw the strange expressions on his colleagues' faces, he was told that the city had fallen at some point and that they had a new leader. His colleagues looked at each other in bewilderment.

The same thought arose in everyone's mind—

When did this happen?

Two flowers bloom, each representing a different branch.

The deputy general who led the troops out of the city was initially full of ambition. Guided by the messenger, he led his troops at breakneck speed and finally arrived at the "trumpet mouth". The traces left by the fierce battle during the day were still there, and the deputy general's heart was filled with excitement.

He asked, "General, are you lying in ambush here to drown the enemy troops?"

The messenger said, "It's a pity they escaped."

The air still carried the lingering stench of blood, and the lieutenant felt slightly uneasy, but this discomfort paled in comparison to the potential gains of victory. He urged the messenger to lead the way: "There's no time to lose! We must rejoin the general and the others as soon as possible and launch a pincer attack on the enemy!"

But the messenger led the way for a while and then stopped.

He looked at him and said, "Right here."

The lieutenant asked impatiently, "What? It's right here?"

The messenger sat on horseback, enveloped in dim shadows, accompanied by a chilling wind thick with the stench of blood, sending a shiver down one's spine. Even more eerie, the messenger's body gradually blurred, became transparent, and vanished with the wind.

He left behind only one sentence that made the lieutenant's eyes widen in shock.

He said, "General, it's right here!"

These six simple words sent chills down the spine of the deputy general.

An alarm bell rang in his mind, and he screamed at the top of his lungs, "Oh no—it's a trap! Turn around immediately, army!"

Unfortunately, they had already been led to the middle of the canyon by the messenger, and it would take time to either rush forward or retreat. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the top of the valley, and saw clusters of dark shadows that looked like human figures, which chilled him to the bone.

ambush!

In a flash, he realized a critical problem.

Since this messenger was fake...

Was the general who returned victorious also a fake?

"This is bad!"

The city has fallen!

However, this was no longer something he could care about.

Above their heads, a rain of arrows fell like a tide.

Shouts of battle rang out from all directions.

They are already trapped like turtles in a jar!

(*￣︶￣)

Hehehe, it's a pity that there's no national anti-fraud app in this other world.

(End of this chapter)