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Seeing Huangfu Song still looking in the direction of the departing group, with a somewhat distracted expression, Cao Cao spoke up, “It’s not surprising that she would risk her life. With her intelligence, if there are any changes in the city, relying on her ability to adapt on the spot, she might even be able to save these righteous warriors’ lives.”
“Moreover, since the general has agreed to let her go on this risky venture, what we need to do now is to ensure that the siege of the city is foolproof and must succeed at once.
Otherwise, if this surprise attack fails, Zhang Bao will definitely defend the city to the death, which will be of no benefit to the northern campaign.”
Huangfu Song understood Cao Cao’s advice clearly.
As the commander, he should not be indecisive about this matter.
“I am not unaware of what Mengde (Cao Cao) said. I just feel that this girl is resolute and exceptionally intelligent.
If she were to be lost here, not only would I be unable to explain to Qiao Gongzu (Qiao Mao), I also feel that it would be a regret for the Great Han Dynasty. But perhaps—”
“Perhaps heroes are made in times of adversity.”
The departing group had gradually disappeared from his sight, and Huangfu Song withdrew his gaze, feeling emotional.
He had to admit that he was growing more and more fond of this younger generation.
The group of more than ten people were dressed in plain clothes and carried iron swords.
When they arrived at the foot of the city of Quyang, just as Qiao Yan had said—
Although they were not a group of emaciated refugees, when they claimed to be wandering rangers from all over and wanted to come to seek refuge, it did not arouse suspicion from the city’s defenders.
Following Qiao Yan’s instructions, Xu Fu, after the defenders let them in, when someone asked why he was carrying a young girl, he replied, “My sister was previously weak due to illness. It was only after receiving a life-extending talisman from a great virtuous teacher that she was able to survive.
I have come to seek refuge and also hope to receive a talisman from General. I just don’t know how much merit we need to achieve such an opportunity?”
In the Taipingjing, magical talismans and spells were referred to as divine blessings, and it was said,
“There are constant divine words in the sky, which are given to people at the right time, to be used to make the divine officials respond and come and go, so that the people can benefit.”
It was a method of treating illnesses by burning divine talismans to ashes and mixing them with wine or water.
This absurd method of treating illnesses was a classic superstition, something that Qiao Yan would naturally not have remembered before she crossed over.
However, when she was acting as a temporary military advisor for Liang Zhongning before, she had received a copy of the “Taipingjing” from him to pass the time.
Now, she was able to use some of its passages to create a scene for them.
These words were also repeated by Xu Shu.
This Yellow Turban minor leader who let them into the city had never seen anyone who could recite these things so fluently.
He muttered to himself, realizing that a person with such awareness, coupled with the martial skills of wielding a sword, was simply a great boon to their side.
Moreover, in his understanding, bringing female relatives was equivalent to having a soft spot, which seemed less threatening.
Xu Fu’s question about whether merit could be exchanged for divine blessings and talismans also made him let go of some of his guard.
He patted Xu Fu on the shoulder and said, “If you really want this divine talisman for healing, you should have gone straight to Guangzong.
Why did you come here? But you can rest assured, General Digong’s divine power is only second to that of a great virtuous teacher.
If you are truly sincere in coming to surrender, you will definitely have this opportunity.”
“Why don’t you want to go to Quzhou Guangzong?” Qiao Yan was still sitting on the cart, coughing lightly, “It’s just that the border between Julu and Guangping is frequently troubled by warfare, which is not beneficial to my condition.
On the other hand, the area around Quyang is stable under the reputation of General Digong, which is a good place to go.”
“That’s indeed the case,” the minor leader replied.
They were settled here!
Seeing Qiao Yan’s weak appearance, which didn’t seem like a pretense, he couldn’t help but feel for Xu Fu, who had to act as her older brother.
Then, he suddenly noticed Dian Wei.
From his physique to his aura, he didn’t seem like an ordinary person!
“I wonder who this is…?” Seeing that although the other party looked somewhat fierce, when he intentionally exerted pressure, the man just looked at him blankly, wondering if he was being overly cautious.
Dian Wei didn’t even bring his favorite heavy halberd on this trip.
Who would believe that he was just an ordinary person coming to surrender? He only brought a sword to ensure he wouldn’t be unarmed in battle.
When the minor leader asked this way, he grinned, “I heard that you Yellow Turbans can eat well. I traveled with these kids before, and they often complained that I ate too much. They all said that the food in this cart is meant to be given to you. I thought, since I’m going to surrender anyway, it doesn’t matter if I eat a bit earlier.”
“…” Dian Wei’s straightforward words made the minor leader silent.
He looked at the rangers who came to surrender and saw a look of suppressed anger on their faces.
He thought to himself that there was actually a devil among them.
But as long as he could eat… it wasn’t a big problem.
With his size, if he could fight, having enough courage and strength, it wouldn’t matter if he ate the amount meant for one person.
This kind of person who only sought to eat a full meal was undoubtedly the easiest to control.
After the minor leader fought with Dian Wei, his eyes lit up.
“Worthy Warrior, truly worthy of the name General” He immediately found Zhang Bao and Chen to report this, specifically mentioning Dian Wei.
Among the Zhang brothers, Zhang Bao, who was entrusted by Zhang Jiao to guard Quyang, was indeed a prudent person.
Upon hearing this, he was not pleasantly surprised by the minor leader’s enthusiastic praise.
He just asked back, “Are you sure there are no problems?”
Perhaps it was because he had received a letter from his older brother recently, mentioning his poor health, Zhang Bao had been feeling uneasy lately.
However, the response around him was significant, and the previous Ju County Prefect had already died at his hands.
Logically, as long as the front line was not defeated, there shouldn’t be any problems.
Despite thinking this way, he still made the routine inquiry.
“There shouldn’t be any problems. They also brought a girl who looks to be around ten years old, seeking General Digong’s divine talisman for healing. I can tell that the concern of the ‘older brother’ doesn’t seem like a pretense,” the minor leader replied confidently.
Little did he know, Xu Fu’s concern was not that of an older brother for his sister, but rather the care of a fan for an idol.
Zhang Bao obviously did not completely let go of his concerns with this answer and asked, “How about the movements to the west and south that I asked you to pay attention to earlier?”
He patted his chest and replied, “General, you can rest assured. Since you asked me to pay more attention, I have not slackened off a single day.
However, to speak of it, the blockade of the eight passes in Luoyang has only about three or four brave enough to go out and fight the rebels.
Now, the situation in each front line is under the control of the great virtuous teacher. General, is your move unnecessary worry…”
Before he could finish his sentence, he received a kick from Zhang Bao.
Zhang Bao frowned and rebuked, “What do you know? We must be cautious even towards Lu Zhi, that old Confucian scholar.
This move must not be underestimated.
The peace in Quyang today does not mean there won’t be attacks from the imperial army tomorrow.
If something goes wrong, how will you explain to my older brother?”
“As for the ‘General’ you mentioned…” Zhang Bao analyzed the information the minor leader had told him, but didn’t find any problems.
He diverted some of his attention to Dian Wei as described, “Bring him to me tomorrow.”
But he probably wouldn’t have to wait to see Dian Wei.
This infiltration into Quyang was not quite like when Qiao Yan was working under Liang Zhongning.
Because there wasn’t a process of gaining trust through achievements or at least a period of time spent together!
Instead, after sending the people into the city, once Huangfu Song saw the signal they raised in the city from the city mountain, they would attack directly at night.
It was about swift and decisive action!
Because of Dian Wei’s reputation as a General and Xu Fu’s ability to talk about the essence of Taiping Taoism, Qiao Yan’s group caught the attention of the minor leader and were arranged a courtyard in the city that was enough to settle them in.
Once the door was closed, she recovered from her sickly state and began planning the night operation.
Her physical condition had indeed improved a lot compared to before, allowing her to wield Huangfu Song’s sword on the banks of the Jishi River and cut down the leader of the rebels, Bocai.
But Qiao Yan was very self-aware— With her current skills, if she were to really confront someone head-on, it would be no different from seeking her own death.
Those soldiers who had experienced real battles wouldn’t need to exert much effort to take care of her in a direct confrontation.
Ensuring that these verbal tricks could persuade the Yellow Turbans in the city, she had already completed most of the task.
When they entered through the east gate of Xiyang, until they reached their temporary lodging, Qiao Yan pretended to cough, but actually she was looking around, finding a temporary hiding place for herself.
She already had a plan in mind.
As for how the others would go to the east gate to assist Huangfu Song, there was also a brilliant reason for it.
Most of the food they brought in a cart was half-heartedly handed over to the minor leader.
In this half-heartedness, the acceptance was naturally higher.
After all, while the cart was nominally filled with food, in reality, most of it was dried meat.
At that time, the minor leader was thinking about how to report Dian Wei’s situation to Zhang Bao and then take him under his command.
He didn’t pay too much attention to this matter and saved Qiao Yan’s prepared words.
Now, apart from the dry and white cakes, there were also three or four packs of dried meat left in the remaining food.
After cooking it properly with the tools available here, Xu Fu cut it into thin slices, wrapped it in something, and sent it to the city walls when night fell.
The reasons they found were quite convincing.
Once they were let in, they became part of the Yellow Turbans, and it didn’t matter if they were familiar with the others in the city.
They just needed to establish good relations with the few people they met at first.
Especially the minor leader, who was the second-in-command in the city of Xiyang.
If they could get him to speak a few good words in front of Zhang Bao, it would probably not be difficult for Xu Fu to ask for a divine talisman for his sister.
To show their sincerity, none of them brought their long knives or swords.
The minor leader, praised by Xu Fu and the others, forgot about the kick he had received from Zhang Bao due to his arrogant attitude.
He sat with them on the city wall, enjoying the slightly cool night breeze and eating the still-warm meat, feeling quite content.
If it weren’t for his duty to guard the city, and he had to strictly adhere to Zhang Bao’s rule of not drinking alcohol, he would have wanted to have a couple of jars himself.
“Luckily, you came to find me at this time. If it were later in the night, I would have to change shifts,” the minor leader said, “Perfect timing. The food in the city, especially the meat, is not distributed every day. I’ll save some for later.”
Xu Fu and the other young man nearest to the minor leader exchanged a glance, both seeing a sense of relief in each other’s eyes.
If it were someone else, it wouldn’t have been so easy to come and cozy up.
The slight reluctance in their eyes was quickly forced back by the latter half of the sentence, “The county magistrate of Xiyang is really something. There are only a few bottles of wine left in the government treasury. We drink a little less each time. Fortunately, he still has a pretty wife…”
He seemed to realize that what he said was inappropriate and immediately stopped, abruptly changing the subject, “Speaking of which, now that you’re all here, is your little sister okay?”
Xu Fu calmly replied, “Don’t worry, she’s just a bit weak. She’s already resting at this time.”
Of course, Qiao Yan wasn’t resting.
After Xu Fu and the others left, she also left the temporary lodging.
After walking two streets, she stopped at the end of an alley, where there was a water tank used for storing water for firefighting.
She jumped in decisively.
The layer of moss growing on the outer wall of the tank was enough to show that it hadn’t been used for a long time, and there were even a few leaks.
This was the hiding place she had chosen for herself.
She couldn’t stay where she was.
Once chaos broke out in the city, someone might suspect that they had done something good.
She also didn’t have the ability to climb over the walls of other houses, and it was hard to say what other trouble she might cause.
This place was still the best.
There was only a little water left at the bottom of the tank. Qiao Yan had been in the Yellow Turban army, so she didn’t care about the water not reaching her ankles.
She carefully hid herself in this inconspicuous water tank and covered the top with the lid.
But she chose to hide here not only because it provided cover, but also because, looking at the ancient siege warfare, there were almost no records of street fighting.
This was very different from modern warfare.
Why was the “surrounding the three gates and waiting” strategy often used to deceive the enemy out of the city and weaken their will to fight to the death?
It was because once the city was breached, the best way was not to stay in the streets and houses to seek shelter, but to try to break through the city and save your life.
In this way, this place was much safer than anywhere else.
Almost at the moment she completed this action, on the city wall at the east gate, Xu Fu suddenly took out a dagger from his waist.
The minor leader, who was using meat without wine, was certainly not drunk, but after chatting with these sensible youths for a while, his guard had already been lowered by half, and there was even a hint of laziness in his gaze.
Moreover, as far as he could see, there was no sign of an enemy attack outside the city.
The moat and the stakes outside the city gave him an unparalleled sense of security.
Even when Xu Fu reached out and grabbed his shoulder, he only felt that he was being too approachable, which made this newcomer trust him even more.
But it was precisely at this moment that the knife came out!
With the robe’s sleeve covering it, the dagger didn’t even reflect a glint of light.
The next moment, it stabbed into his heart.
The minor leader looked at the youth in front of him in disbelief, but all he saw was the calm face that had seemed so arrogant just now, as if the act of pulling out the dagger and killing had been carefully considered.
This was clearly not the demeanor of an ordinary young adventurer!
He still had many questions he wanted to ask, but with the withdrawal of the dagger, he could only fall down unwillingly.
And in his remaining sight, he saw that it was not only Xu Fu who was acting on the city tower at this moment.
The Warrior, whom he had particularly favored, had taken a Yellow Turban soldier’s sword and boldly cut down three people in a row.
What made him even more uneasy about his death was undoubtedly—
After the first exclamation of finding something unusual here, what was clearer was not the movement of reinforcements from the city, but the sound of horse hooves and marching footsteps from the wilderness outside the city, along with the clanging of armor.
Unfortunately, he could no longer see what kind of troops were coming.
Xu Fu pushed his lifeless body aside and went straight to the winch on the city tower.
Since Qiao Yan entrusted him with such a heavy responsibility, giving him such trust and guidance, he must do this beautifully!
He could see clearly that ahead of the team rushing from outside the city, a flag with the words “Huangfu” was fluttering in the wind!
That was the team he was about to meet!
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