Chapter 179: Chapter 134: Going Separate Ways
Translator: 549690339
In the fourth year of Hongdao, in the beginning of May, eight thousand heroes from across Xichuan formed an alliance, establishing the Xichuan Martial Alliance, swearing to bring down Li Xiong, the thief of Shu, in vengeance for the massacre of their families.
At the meeting, the heroes unanimously elected Lu Feng, the master of Danxin Mountain, as the Alliance Leader, leading the United Army to fight against Li Thief.
The same month, Danxin Villa raised an army in Anyue Prefecture. The brave local men hearing the news, gathered in great numbers to pledge their allegiance. In just a matter of a few days, more than ten thousand men had gathered.
Later, Lu Feng led his army to attack the city of Anyue Prefecture. There was cooperation from inside the city, and the city gates were opened. In just one day, the city was recaptured.
The Xuanlong Banner of Da Yue fluttered again atop this city.
Upon hearing this news, the Bai Tao Sect in Xuanwu Prefecture raised three thousand soldiers to support Lu Feng, the Flying Snake Cult in Nanchong Prefecture raised five thousand soldiers and the Meng Family in Tongchuan Prefecture raised two thousand in response to the uprising.
The Sumi Temple in Panshi Prefecture, gathered the monk believers and raised an army of six thousand in response.
Heroes from other prefectures and counties also responded by raising their own armies.
In a matter of ten days, fifty-eight divisions of volunteer soldiers arose in Xichuan. Led by Lu Feng, they together constituted a total force of one hundred thousand men.
One-third of all counties and prefectures in Xichuan had swiftly been recaptured, and united under the symbolic power of the martial alliance. For a time, the prospect of unified control over Xichuan appeared within reach.
Yuzhong Prefecture.
Underneath the city, several thousand forces gathered, their banners fluttering imposingly in the wind.
Zhou Qing, seated on his horse, watched the tightly shut city gates in front of him, heavily armed soldiers gathered on the city wall, all with their eyes sharply trained on their side.
After watching for a while, he turned his gaze and addressed the nearby Guo Yunshan: “Brother Guo, there are many defenders in the city. Even if many of the city soldiers have been taken by Li Thief for his eastern campaign, the remaining guards combined with the civilian workers are still more than two thousand. Our army only has a little over five thousand, barely twice as much as theirs. Breaching the city will not be easy.”
With the formation of the Xichuan Martial Alliance, heroes from all parts of Xichuan began to rise in rebellion, responding to the call of the Alliance Leader.
As one of the attendees and one of the ten major families in Xichuan, the Yuzhong Guo Family could certainly not be left behind.
Ten days ago, Guo Yunshan had returned to Xichuan and then used the remnants of his family’s connections to encourage the local people to oppose the tyranny of the Qiang People.
The Qiang People had committed heinous massacres in Xichuan, and many locals had friends and relatives who had died at their hands, creating a situation of deep-seated resentment.
Moreover, ever since the establishment of Xi Shu, there has been constant military action.
Less than a year after the formation of Xi Shu, Li Xiong had launched two wars involving armies of hundreds of thousands.
With an army of several hundred thousand, just maintaining the supply of necessary provisions was draining the local people to the point of selling their children, making their lives unbearable.
Originally, with the strong military power of the Shu Thieves, even if they subjected the locals to rigorous torment, the locals would dare not revolt out of fear.
Now, the rise of the Xichuan Martial Alliance has triggered a massive uprising. In the blink of an eye, one-third of the prefectures and counties have returned to Da Yue, obviously giving the local people great confidence.
Hence, as soon as the Yuzhong Guo family raised their banner, they immediately attracted more than five thousand brave men to pledge allegiance.
Then Guo Yunshan led the volunteer soldiers, conducting campaigns in all directions, captured cities and territories, and quickly recaptured five counties in Yuzhong Prefecture. Now, he leads a large army to besiege the city, hoping to take back this vital city.
At this time, he was filled with pride and satisfaction, so hearing Zhou Qing express his doubts made him somewhat unhappy, and he said, “Brother Zhou, our great army is robust, and the will of the people is with us. The people within the city are my fellow citizens of Yuzhong, who now serve the enemy only under duress.”
Now the righteous army is here, and as long as we send one or two people to negotiate and explain the righteousness, the city guards will naturally capture the defenders and offer the city to us.”
Guo Yunshan spoke optimistically.
But it was not surprising that he thought this way.
Because previously, when he was helping to recapture the five counties, as soon as the army arrived, the city would fall into disorder and surrender without resistance.
The smooth experience that can be described as a military march naturally can make any person overconfident and intoxicated.
So not only was Guo Yunshan being so optimistic, but his soldiers and
All of them were waiting for the city to surrender, and then they would walk in and take the city defense, thereby completing the change of control.
The messenger for surrender negotiations had already been sent out.
Everyone was pleasantly waiting, some were even discussing amongst themselves that after entering the city, they would go to the city’s brothel to have a good time, and release the pent-up energy accumulated over the years.
Seeing the slack and lax atmosphere, Zhou Qing’s brows furrowed.
Having followed his teacher for a long time, he had adopted some of Lu Yuan’s good attributes, such as being exceptionally cautious and prudent. He liked to be fully prepared in everything and consider all angles.
And in several years of fighting in Jianghu, Zhou Qing’s experiences proved the value of the way his master taught him to handle things.
Several times he encountered dangerous situations. He survived due to his meticulousness, his prudence, and his multiple contingency plans.
Seeing the carelessness of these fellow travellers now, the typically cautious Zhou Qing was subtly uneasy.
Although he hadn’t read much military books and didn’t know how to lead soldiers into battle, when Zhou Qing was young, he often listened to storytellers’ tales of generals’ battles.
In those stories, there were many references to the ideas of “proud troops will be defeated” and “troops that mourn are bound to win”. Now, Xi Shu is losing cities and territories, retreating non-stop, and has already reached the point where they have nowhere to retreat.
There are still thousands of Qiang soldiers in Yuzhong Prefecture, plus the family members of the Qiang soldiers who went out to fight, there are tens of thousands of people. These Qiang People knew very well that given their strife with the Yue People in Xichuan, even if they surrendered, there would be no way out for them..
