Chapter 392
Chapter 392 – Sneak Away
November 10th .
The weather got colder each day as the cold wind from the north reached the center of China .
Cao Ren and Yue Jin traveled along with their men, searching for a trail of Sun Jian and his crews . After ten days of tracking, they became depressed and frustrated .
Although they could not find any trace on the outskirt, they found the eunuch's carriage, which was sold to a local noble in Zeng County . Upon questioning, they discovered that the eunuch and Sun Jian disguised as merchants and traveled to Langye many days ago .
Both generals rushed back with their men, returning to Langye at full speed . On the way home, he made a cruel order .
"KILL EVERY MERCHANT YOU FIND ON THE ROAD, NO EXCEPTION!"
All 20,000 soldiers rushed back to Langye using all roads, killing every civilian they found .
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Meanwhile, Sun Jian, Wei You, Taishi Ci, and others hid inside Langye County . As the local official forbade anyone from leaving, they had to rest in a local inn, waiting for their reinforcement to arrive .
November 15th .
Kong Rong arrived at Langye as promised .
When Chen Gui and Chen Deng saw an army approaching, they were in a panic that they almost wet their pants . All of their garrison soldiers also trembled in fright .
"We're doomed! That Cao Ren probably knew about this . Is this why they left our county in a hurry!?"
Chen Gui sighed, "Let's surrender . We can't fight that army . "
"We don't even know what we did wrong . Why is his majesty invading us? Isn't Cao Cao his majesty's subordinate?"
"I don't know . For now, let's get down and welcome them . We don't want them to siege the city . "
People's loyalty toward their lord was always dubious . They might swear allegiance to one liege, but they could also serve another warlord if the situation demanded it .
The Chen Family was the same . Ever since their former lord, Tao Qian, had passed away without a successor, they had to serve Yuan Shao, who came out of nowhere to take their cities .
Then, Cao Cao appeared . Because they thought that Yuan Shao was an opportunist lord that stole Tao Qian's territory, every former Tao Qian's official agreed to switch sides .
And now, Tong's subordinates appeared before them, and they did not even hesitate to betray Cao Cao to save their hides .
Kong Rong was also surprised that the Chen Family opened the gates to receive him . He had thought that he had to scam his way into the city . Fortunately, these prefects were too cowardice to stand their ground .
"Welcome to Langye! We'll cooperate with you and his majesty . "
Although Kong Rong ridiculed these men, he wore his façade mask and greeted Chen Gui .
"Thank you . You don't have to be modest . We've come here to inspect the city since Sir Cao Cao has completed his acquisition from that traitor Yuan Shao . "
"Yes, yes . Please come inside . We'll hold a banquette to welcome you . "
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Kong Rong: "Sir Taishi Ci, we've arrived in the city . "
Taishi Ci: "I saw your army . I can see the commotion from here . "
Kong Rong: "We'll enter the inner city for a banquette . Please guide everybody to our army camp and show them Sir Wei You's token . I've informed my men about your circumstances . They will shelter all of you . "
Taishi Ci: "Thank you . "
Kong Rong: "It's my job . "
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Taishi Ci relayed the good news to Sun Jian and Wei You .
"Our reinforcement has arrived . The prefect has surrendered the city, so we can head home now . "
Wei You revealed a bright smile, "Bless his majesty! May he live a thousand years!"
Taishi Ci shook his head, giving up explaining to this fanatic that it was actually Kong Rong that helped them .
Meanwhile, Sun Jian was astonished by the efficiency of Tong's subordinates . Seeing how they coordinated with the others, Sun Jian's awareness of the clan chat usage rose .
'Will we be able to utilize this clan chat to this level?'
Huang Gai, Han Dang, and Cheng Pu also had the same thought . With instant long-range communication, their military tactics and schemes would increase their efficiency by many folds . As veteran generals, they knew how vital information relaying was .
'We need more people in our clan!'
They gritted their teeth in frustration . The limit of clan recruitment was one person a year, and all members could not quit until their clan leader died .
Also, if their clan leader died, their clan would be disbanded, and this feature would disappear like smoke .
Everyone sighed in resignation . None of them wanted to kill Sun Fang, so they had to do their best for their clan to thrive .
Later that day, Taishi Ci and everyone regrouped with Kong Rong inside the latter's military camp .
Kong Rong welcomed everyone in his main tent .
"Lao Gonggong, we've troubled you . "
Wei You laughed, "It was nothing . Completing a difficult task like this is rewarding . I got my brag right to mess with my colleagues back home . "
"Hahaha . Of course . I'm sure his majesty will reward you well . "
"Serving him by his side is already rewarding enough . I don't need anything more . "
Kong Rong and Wei You were in a friendly term .
Then, Kong Rong turned to Sun Jian and his subordinates .
"We're sorry to involve you in our struggles . I promise you that his majesty will compensate you and your family for your troubles . "
Sun Jian wore his façade, "Don't be . We're all servants of the Han Dynasty . Following his majesty's order is mandatory . "
"That's true . Well, I've received his majesty's words that once we regain the control of Xu Province, we'll return them for you . "
"Thank you!"
Kong Rong gave Sun Jian, Han Dang, Cheng Pu, and Huang Gai his army uniforms so that they could disguise themselves as one of Kong Rong's men .
As for Taishi Ci, he rejoined his former lord as the grand commander of 30,000 soldiers .
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November 20th .
Cao Ren and his 20,000 soldiers returned to Langye City . However, they could not enter .
As for a reason, it was because of the banners on the top of the walls .
Kong!
They were Kong Rong's flags, which indicated that Langye had fallen to Tong's men .
Cao Ren and Yue Jin's face paled . Not only they failed to locate Sun Jian and others, but they also lost the city .
"S-Should I report this matter to our lord?" Asked Cao Ren .
Yue Jin shook his head, "Not yet! We haven't lost the city yet!"
"Are you blind!? We haven't lost the city, my foot! Kong Rong has already taken the city . "
"Zhang Tong and we have formed an alliance pack, and our lord is officially the emperor's subordinate . We don't have a reason to attack each other, so maybe we can ask them to get inside the city first . We should talk things out with them, and maybe we can get our city back . "
Cao Ren's face twitched, "What about Sun Jian?"
"We'll think about it later . Let's try to salvage our failures first!"
"So, we're going to hide this from our lord?"
"Yes! Until we can't do anything anymore, we'll continue to do our best!"
"… Okay . "
Cao Ren and his force marched toward the city without forming a battle formation, gesturing goodwill .
An arrow flew and pierced the ground in front of Cao Ren . It was a warning shot .
"DON'T SHOOT! WE WISH TO TALK TO THE CURRENT GOVERNOR OF LANGYE!"
As Cao Ren shouted, he inspected his surroundings .
There was no trace of fighting or combat, which revealed that Chen Gui and Chen Deng had surrendered the city to Kong Rong .
'Traitor bastards . I'll have to kill those geezers, or I won't be able to sleep!'
Standing and glaring at the people on the wall for a while, Cao Ren heard a reply a few minutes later .
"Show us your tokens! Who are you!?"
Cao Ren yelled back, "I am Cao Cao's subordinate, Cao Ren! I'm the governor of this city!"
Although he said that, he was expecting an answer [Bullshit, our governor is Sir Kong Rong] or some sort . As he was preparing for another argument, the gate opened .
"Huh? Did it work? Zhang Tong doesn't want to fight us?"
Cao Ren turned to Yue Jin in astonishment and gave him a thumbs up .
Yue Jin revealed a wry smile, "I told you so . "
"You're good, Wenqian . "
