Chapter Sixty: Beheading Guan and Taking Yuanping

  After resting for a few days, Li Chong reconvened the crowd to discuss matters. Li Chong's idea was to attack Yuanping County, expand his own territory, and also kill the chicken to warn the monkey, giving other county towns a warning.

  Everyone agreed with Li Chong's proposal, and that was also the initial intention of attacking the Yin House.

  Now that everyone agrees to attack Yuanping, the next discussion is how to attack the city. Li Chong has only 2,000 soldiers under his command. If it's a field battle, there's no problem at all. But if it's an attack on the city, it's a bit beyond his power. Even if he can take down Yuanping, the heavy casualties caused by the siege are not something Li Chong can afford.

  Then all the generals turned their attention to Cheng Yu, and even Li Zhong looked at him with a face full of expectation. As the top strategist of the Three Kingdoms period, Li Zhong believed that Cheng Yu must have already planned how to capture Yuanping.

  As expected by Li Chong, Cheng Yu cleared his throat and said, "I think it's better to capture Yuanping by cleverness rather than force."

  Although it was a waste of words, the generals all nodded politely, waiting for Cheng Yu's next words.

  Cheng Yu smiled slightly and continued: "The lord has 500 elite cavalry, which is a great advantage. My idea is to fully utilize our army's speed advantage, first let one general lead people to mix into Yuanping, at night set fire as a signal, open the city gate, and ambush the cavalry outside the city to take the opportunity to enter the city, and capture Yuanping in one fell swoop. However... this plan is a bit risky."

  As soon as Cheng Yu's voice fell, Taishi Ci immediately bowed his fist and said: "There is no war without risk, my lord. Taishi Ci is willing to lead fifty soldiers to infiltrate Yuanping County."

  Liao Hua and others, upon hearing this, also refused to fall behind, and one after another stood up to request battle.

  As the generals asked for orders one after another, Li Chong was also thinking in his heart. He somewhat agreed to let Taishi Ci sneak into the city, and the reason was simple: Taishi Ci's martial arts were strong, and the chances of opening the city gate were higher.

  Just then, Cheng Yu shook his head and said: "General Taishi's reputation is great, I'm sure many people can recognize the general's face, it's easy to make a mistake, so... General Taishi should still ambush outside the door."

  Li Zhong nodded in agreement, still thinking that Cheng Yu's words were meticulous and not false. Taishi Ci was now a famous general and it was very likely that he would be recognized by others.

  Seeing Tai Shi Ci being rejected, Jiang Qin immediately said: "Your Excellency, let Jiang Qin go instead. Not to boast, but in terms of horsemanship, I am not as good as General Tai Shi, but when it comes to infantry battles, I am confident that I am not inferior to General Tai Shi. Moreover, when it comes to taking advantage of chaos, I am familiar with the terrain."

  "Not bad, then trouble you." Li Chong clapped his hands and said. After listening to Jiang Qin's words, Li Chong also remembered that Jiang Qin was originally a bandit leader and had done many evil deeds, so it was most suitable for him to go and kill people and set fires.

  At this time, Cheng Yu also said: "The young general Cheng Wu has some martial arts skills, let him assist General Jiang Qin, how is that?"

  Hearing his father's words, Cheng Wu immediately responded: "I beg to report to the general, I am willing to join General Gong Yi in defeating the enemy."

  Cheng Yu and his son must make a move, sneak into the city, take advantage of the night to attack the city gate. It's indeed very dangerous, you can't just let others take risks with one word, while you watch from the sidelines.

  Coveting life and fearing death will lead to being despised by others everywhere.

  Now that Cheng Yu has sent his own son to the front line, it's nothing more than expressing two meanings. First, it's for Li to see: My lord, look at how loyal I am, I've even sent my son to the front line.

  The second is for all of you generals to see: Look, I, the father and son of the Cheng family, are not just good at talking, we can also take up arms and fight.

  Li Chong hesitated for a moment, then understood Cheng Yu's intention and nodded in agreement.

  As expected, the attitude of the generals towards Program Ye's father and son was indeed much warmer. Jiang Qin even smiled at Program Wu and said: "Thank you for your help, Mr. Yan Ting."

  Cheng Wu also hurriedly modestly said a few words, and for a time the atmosphere was very warm.

  The next day, the crowd led the soldiers and horses to Yuanping. Jiang Qin and others led 50 soldiers dressed as farmers and merchants, advancing first, while Taishi Ci and others brought 500 elite soldiers following behind.

  Can't help but say that this thief Jiang Qin really has some skills, disguising himself as a farmer and looking quite rustic, not revealing any flaws at all.

  Li Chong was also lucky, Zhang Cai and other local tyrants had some business in Yuanping County, and they didn't have to worry about weapons and horses. They just couldn't count on them to help fight desperately. These merchants were selfish and only cared about their own interests. When others attacked Guangwu, they feared it would affect their business and fought extremely fiercely.

  But when attacking other cities, these people immediately become timid and afraid of death.

  They marched all the way and arrived near Yuanping County, where Taishi Ci and others ambushed in a forest five miles away from the county seat, waiting for Jiang Qin and others to enter the city in batches.

  The guards at Yuanping County were extremely lax and, seeing that Jiang Qin and the others did not carry any weapons, let them pass very easily.

  Jiang Qin and others mixed into the city, went to Zhang Cai's shop to take up arms, had a hearty meal, and waited for nightfall to take action.

  It's deep winter now, the sky darkens extremely fast. After 3-5 pm, the sky gradually darkened, and the pedestrians on the street also became fewer and fewer.

  As night fell, Jiang Qin stood up, changed into his armor, and led the crowd out of their hiding place.

  Along a quiet and secluded street, Jiang Qin and others arrived near the city gate. With a loud order from Jiang Qin, they lit torches and rushed towards the city gate.

  Cheng Wu also led a group of people to set fires everywhere, igniting the flammable materials that had been doused with oil, and for a time, the county of Yuanping was filled with thick smoke and flames shooting up into the sky.

  Li Chong saw a large fire burning inside Yuanping County and immediately led his men in a charge towards the city gate.

  Whether Jiang Qin can capture the city gate or not, Li Chong must respond to Jiang Qin. If Jiang Qin succeeds, everyone will be overjoyed. If things don't go well, Li Chong should still respond to Jiang Qin, attracting the attention of the defending army and allowing Jiang Qin to escape in the chaos.

  Jiang Qin had already made preparations for a desperate battle, charging towards the city gate with eyes blazing red. However, when he arrived at the city gate, Jiang Qin discovered that the defenses of Yuanping County were extremely lax, with only a few dozen guards watching over the walls.

  Jiang Qinxi was overjoyed, wielding his large knife and charging forward to kill. These defending soldiers were no match for Jiang Qin, and in less time than it takes to drink a cup of tea, they were killed or fled in all directions.

  Jiang Qin hastily ordered the city gate to be opened, waiting for Taishi Ci to come and respond. At this time, Cheng Wu also brought people rushing to the city gate. The two of them looked at each other, burst out laughing, feeling that this trip was extremely smooth, and Ping County would definitely be captured easily. What's left is to discuss merits and rewards.

  After laughing loudly for a while, they suddenly discovered a problem, that is, taking the city gate was too smooth, and Taishi Ci's response speed was not enough.

  At this time, the sound of horseshoes had already spread within the city walls, presumably someone had come to protect the city walls.

  Jiang Qin estimated that Taishi Ci was about five miles away, and it would take at least an incense stick's time to rush to the city gate. He immediately swung his sword to cut off the door bolt and block the city gate.

  "Rumble, rumble..." After a dull and heavy footsteps, the original Ping County magistrate led hundreds of people and horses to rush in front of Jiang Qin.

  The county magistrate of Yuanping also knew that time was pressing and did not waste words. He immediately ordered someone to take back the city gate. Due to the urgency, these soldiers didn't even have time to bring their bows and arrows, and could only charge forward with swords and spears.

  Jiang Qin angrily shouted, holding up his large knife to block the front, and in one breath, he chopped out more than a dozen knives. Suddenly, a burst of fresh blood splashed in front of him, sprinkling Jiang Qin's whole body with it.

  After a string of miserable cries, seven or eight people fell in front of Jiang Qin.

  "Hsss..." Jiang Qin spat out a mouthful of hot air, which turned into a ball of white mist.

  The soldiers behind had not yet figured out what was happening when they saw seven or eight of their comrades killed by Jiang Qin's sword, and they retreated in fear.

  Jiang Qinwei rode his horse with a majestic air and shouted loudly: "I am Jiang Qin, come on if you are not afraid of death!"

  Don't just look at the surface, he's all powerful and mighty, but in reality, he's secretly suffering. That last move has already consumed more than half of his physical strength, if he were to do it again, without anyone else attacking him, he'd fall off his horse himself. If this were on a battlefield, Jiang Qin's behavior would be purely suicidal.

  If Tai Shi Ci hadn't arrived later, Jiang Qin wouldn't have been so desperate. But now, in order to minimize casualties, Jiang Qin can only resort to this last-ditch effort, and all he can do is hope that Tai Shi Ci will act quickly.

  The county magistrate of Yuanping was also startled by Jiang Qin's martial arts, but he immediately saw that Jiang Qin's chest was violently heaving and loudly shouted: "Don't be afraid, Jiang Qin is exhausted, all of you come up and exhaust him to death!"

  "Damn... your mother..." Jiang Qin saw that he couldn't intimidate the enemy, so he cursed under his breath and could only grit his teeth to resist.

  Cheng Wu was not to be outdone, holding a pair of sabers and dancing out a dazzling light, single-handedly holding down an area over ten feet wide. The soldiers under his command saw their general fighting so desperately and also gritted their teeth, stubbornly defending the position without retreating a single step.

  In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Jiang Qin's fifty men had lost nearly half their number in killed and wounded, and the line was forced back more than ten paces, almost to the point where they would have been driven outside the city gate.

  Jiang Qin's eyes blazed with fury, and he was about to disregard his physical strength and fight desperately. Just then, a sudden horseshoe sound came from behind him, followed by a loud shout that entered his ears: "Gong Yi, get out of the way! Taishi Ci is here!"

  Jiang Qin was so excited that he almost cried out, let out a loud shout, and chopped wildly with the big knife in his hand, forcing the enemy to retreat. Taking advantage of the momentum, he flashed to one side and urgently said: "Quickly flash to both sides."

  The soldiers he brought also entered the amnesty, cheering and rushing to both sides, with some even throwing away their knives and guns.

  To be honest, Li Zhong's army was not formed for a long time and had never fought a tough battle. If it weren't for Chiang Kai-shek threatening these soldiers beforehand, they would have scattered long ago.

  Jiang Qin's threatening words to these soldiers were simple: he directly told them that no one should think of escaping, as they would not be able to escape the temple even if they ran. Taishi Ci's cavalry was waiting behind with knives in hand. Those cavalrymen were all butchers who had blood on their hands, and they would absolutely not show mercy when killing their own people.

  As soon as the soldiers parted to clear a path, Taishi Ci charged in on horseback.

  A torch flew in with a whirring sound, and due to its high speed, the flames on the torch were compressed into a red dot, like a meteorite, flying into the enemy's camp.

  “Bang……” An enemy soldier was hit right in the chest by a torch thrown by Taishi Ci, just like being struck by a battering ram. He was knocked into the air and spat out a mouthful of blood in mid-air. After falling to the ground and rolling several times, he made no more sound. If one looked closely, they could see that the soldier's chest had already caved in.

  Tai Shi Zi's single throw was so powerful.