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The night was deep, and the surroundings were pitch black. Even the torches on the walls of Hangu Pass could only illuminate a small area—their light seemed to struggle forward just a little before being completely swallowed by the darkness, leaving not even a trace behind.
Beneath the Wangqi Tower of Hangu Pass, a few faint meows could be heard, as if some stray mountain cat from an unknown peak had wandered here in search of a midnight meal.
The torches on the Wangqi Tower flickered a few times, and then several ropes with baskets attached were lowered from the top of the pass wall. Someone leaned over the parapet and whispered down, "Hurry up!"
Soon, objects resembling wine jars were placed into the baskets. The men on the wall quickly hauled them up, and once emptied, the baskets were hastily lowered again to fetch the next batch...
Before long, more than a dozen large jars had been piled up on the pass wall. A soldier holding a torch nearby grew curious and stealthily took a few steps forward, craning his neck to get a better look—only to receive a sharp slap to the back of his head.
"Damn your eyes! What the hell are you looking at?! Get the hell away from here! One more step and I'll cut you down!" The junhou (military captain) nearby nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw this fool stepping forward with a torch. He rushed over, cursing under his breath, and drove the soldier away with a mix of blows and kicks.
After just a few trips, a sharp, short cry—like that of a wildcat whose tail had been stepped on—echoed from somewhere. The junhou's expression changed instantly. He immediately ordered the soldiers on the wall to move the large jars away and hide them. He hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, and then strode forward...
He hadn't gone far when a group of men approached, led by Commandant Guo Pu.
The junhou hurried forward to salute, but Guo Pu merely acknowledged him with a grunt and continued walking without pause. However, another junhou trailing behind Guo Pu sneered, "Captain Chen, still not resting at this hour? Come up to the pass to enjoy the night breeze?"
Captain Chen forced a smile and walked alongside them. "Captain Li, no, no... It's just that with all the talk about the Yellow Turban rebels these past few days, I couldn't sleep, so I came up for a walk..."
Commandant Guo Pu glanced sideways at Captain Chen and let out a derisive snort but said nothing, continuing forward.
Captain Li chuckled lightly. "Ah, I see. Well, Captain Chen, you'd best be careful. Wouldn't want those Yellow Turban bandits sneaking up here and hurting you. That'd be a shame, haha..."
Captain Chen maintained his ingratiating smile, pretending not to catch the sarcasm in Captain Li's words. "Yes, yes. Ah, I'm getting old. My body's not as strong as the youngsters these days. If I were ten years younger, I'd surely..."
He mimed a slashing motion, then added, "The Yellow Turbans are just military merits waiting to be claimed, really. Back during the Zhongping era, it was thanks to killing a few of them that I managed to become a junhou..."
Guo Pu paused slightly and turned to Captain Chen. "You... fought the Yellow Turbans before?"
"I did! Back then, I was just a squad leader." Captain Chen pulled open his military robe, revealing a long scar across his chest. "This wound is from those days. Lucky to be alive, I suppose..."
Guo Pu nodded. "A wound on the front—that's a man's mark. Tell me, what were the Yellow Turbans like back then?"
"Ah, well, back then, General Huangfu..." Captain Chen nodded eagerly, leading the way forward while subtly steering the group past the Wangqi Tower without stopping...
Seeing that they had already bypassed the tower, Captain Chen relaxed slightly and spoke with increasing fluency and exaggeration. "...Truth be told, the Yellow Turbans were just farmers who got their hands on some crude weapons. They were even worse than some mountain bandits. At first, their numbers were intimidating, but once General Huangfu struck their central command and their banners fell—ha! They scattered like wild monkeys across the hills, running for their lives..."
As Guo Pu listened, he continued walking, unknowingly traversing the entire eastern section of the wall. Liangzhou and Yongzhou had always been battlegrounds against the rebellious Qiang and Hu tribes, as well as defiant local warlords. The Yellow Turbans? Well, Zhang Jiao probably hadn't even considered the remote and desolate Liangzhou worth his time. Thus, Guo Pu had little experience fighting them. But after hearing Captain Chen's account, his restless heart stirred once more.
Just farmers with shoddy weapons?
Could they really be harder to deal with than mounted Qiang and Hu warriors?
Tch. That spineless Governor Zheng!
Guo Pu stroked his beard and snorted but said nothing more to Captain Chen before descending the eastern wall with Captain Li in tow.
××××××××××××××
The entire night, Fei Qian tossed and turned. This was truly a difficult situation.
At this moment, he felt nothing but disgust for the remnants of the Yellow Turbans—especially here, at this location. This was the Xiaohan Passage, a narrow path where one could only enter from one end and exit from the other. Now, stuck here, unable to advance or retreat, he had a real headache on his hands.
Ancient times were nothing like the modern era, where one could simply call for a helicopter. Then again, if he had the materials, could he build a hot air balloon and float over? No, forget it. He'd never attempted such a thing before, and any mistake would be playing with lives. Besides, where would he even find the materials now?
Why would the Yellow Turbans appear in Xin'an?
Some time ago, rumors had spread that the White Wave Bandits had clashed with Dong Zhuo's forces and even defeated them—but that had been in the mountainous regions east of Hedong, hadn't it?
In Fei Qian's view, the White Wave Bandits' victory had largely been due to terrain advantage. The eastern part of Hedong was filled with mountains and forests, rendering the Xiliang cavalry's strengths useless. Even if Dong Zhuo's forces had pressed forward, they would've had to dismount and climb the hills on foot—only to find the White Wave Bandits already fled to another peak by the time they reached the top.
Thus, the Xiliang cavalry's failure didn't necessarily mean they were weak. On open ground, their disciplined charges would likely have crushed the Yellow Turban rebels, who lacked warhorses, leaving them no chance to escape!
Xin'an was a small county town, long situated in the peaceful interior with minimal garrison forces—at most, two or three hundred soldiers. Surrounded by a thousand or two Yellow Turbans, of course they'd panic.
A thousand or two Yellow Turban bandits...
If they could dispatch about a thousand soldiers from Hangu Pass to launch a surprise attack from behind while the rebels besieged the city, Xin'an's predicament could likely be resolved.
In history, when Kong Rong was besieged in Beihai, Guan Hai had supposedly surrounded the city with tens of thousands of troops. How many soldiers had Liu Bei brought to break the siege—three thousand? Five thousand?
Fei Qian couldn't recall the exact number, but it had been far fewer than Guan Hai's forces. Yet, by striking the rebel camp from behind, a single charge had sent the Yellow Turbans fleeing in disarray...
Of course, Guan Hai's forces might've included the rebels' entire families, but wasn't that always the case with the Yellow Turbans?
Right now, the best course of action is to meet with a certain someone...
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