Chapter 71: Capture of Mayi

  In the 2nd month of the 2nd year of Chuping (June, 190 AD), Li Jue and Guo Si captured Chang'an, holding Emperor Xian hostage. The whole country was shocked. Lü Bu fled to join Zhang Yang, while Minister of Works Wang Yun went into hiding. The warlords of Liang Province once again held the emperor hostage to order the vassals.

  Li Chong is no longer concerned with these issues, and he has put all his thoughts into training troops for war. Li Chong decided that he must capture Maiyi after the autumn harvest, threaten Yinguan, in order to control the entire Yanmen Commandery, and strengthen his own power.

  The reason why Li Chong was so anxious was that Liu Yu, the governor of Youzhou, had already declared war on Gongsun Zan. If nothing unexpected happened, Gongsun Zan would soon defeat Liu Yu and occupy the entire territory of Youzhou. It was safe to be a neighbor of Liu Yu, but it was extremely dangerous to be a neighbor of Gongsun Zan.

  Just then, news from Chang'an arrived in Guangwu. Li Zhong suddenly felt that something was wrong. Cai Yong had died, and Xiao Luoli still didn't know how to cry about it. Speaking of which, he should thank Wang Yun anyway. If it weren't for him killing Cai Yong, things would be settled once and for all. In the future, Li Zhong wouldn't even know how to explain the situation with Cai Yong to Xiao Luoli.

  As soon as he returned to the back house, a maid came to report that Xiao Loli was crying loudly. Li Chong silently sighed and went to comfort Cai Yan.

  Not yet entering the house, Li Chong already heard little loli crying loudly, rubbing her face hard, and forcing herself to open the door.

  Little Lori Cai Yan had tears all over her face, like a pear blossom in the rain. As soon as she saw Li Chong enter the house, she couldn't help but feel shy, and threw herself into his arms like a swallow returning to its nest. It was midsummer, the weather was scorching hot, and Little Lori was wearing a thin dress. When Li Chong put his arm around her, he felt that the place where his hand touched was incredibly smooth.

  "Don't cry, don't cry..." Li gently stroked the little loli's back, softly comforting her.

  Cai Yan's crying grew louder, and she wailed: "Li Lang, my father has been murdered!"

  "It's good that he's dead... what a pity!" Li Chong almost didn't say what was on his mind, hastily adding a few more words, or else the consequences would be unthinkable.

  Li Chongyu gently wiped away Cai Yan's tears with his sleeve and said softly, "Zhaoji, your father can be considered to have died a worthy death. I think his spirit in heaven would also want to see you live happily, isn't that so?"

  Cai Yan stopped her crying and sobbed: "Li Lang, now I am all alone in the world, there is no one left to care for me, you must not... abandon me!"

  "What's going on? I don't care who you are!" Li Chong patted his chest like a god guaranteeing, if it weren't for Cai Yan pulling him back, Li Chong would have kowtowed and burned incense.

  "Then you'll avenge me! Cut that old scoundrel Wang Yun into a thousand pieces." Cai Yan continued, saying this while also nudging Li Zhong's chest with force.

  "Don't worry!" Li Chong patted Cai Yan's powdered back and chuckled softly. As for Wang Yun, Li Chong really didn't have a good impression of him. In Li Chong's opinion, the most pathetic strategy was the "beauty trap"! Had all the men died that they had to let a weak and delicate woman save the world? If a country had sunk to such a level, then it truly had no need to exist.

  The country with the most backbone is not the powerful Han or Tang dynasties, nor is it the self-proclaimed Celestial Empire, but rather the Ming dynasty, which was plagued by internal and external troubles. It refused to make peace with neighboring countries, did not accept tribute from others, its emperors guarded the national gates, and kings died for their country. This is the true demeanor and spirit of a great nation.

  Wang Yun is nothing but a thing, relying on women's thighs to survive. If it were up to me, Li Chong would have cut him down with one knife.

  Li Chong did not know that Wang Yun had narrowly escaped being caught, and was kicked in the lower body by Diao Chan, leaving him in Chang'an, filled with fear. In desperation, he abandoned his reputation as a minister and disguised himself as a beggar to escape with his life. When Chang'an finally calmed down, Wang Yun slipped out of the city, thinking about which lord to turn to for help.

  It turns out that Wang Yun still had some loyal and patriotic thoughts, the first thing he thought of was Cao Cao and Li Chong. This man had pursued and killed Dong Zhuo with all his might in those years, and was classified by Wang Yun as a loyal minister and general. After a moment's consideration, Wang Yun felt that Li Chong's strength was too weak and his birth was not noble, so he went to join Cao Cao.

  Li Zhong easily comforted Cai Yan, then called someone to send food for Cai Yan, and accompanied the little loli to eat a late dinner before returning to his room to rest.

  Time flies like an arrow, and soon it was September when the wheat was ripe. After discussing with others, Li Chong decided to send troops to attack Maiyi and seize military rations.

  This time, Li Chong led an army of 3,500 men, divided into two routes. One route was led by Li Chong himself, with 3,000 men attacking Mai Yi, while the other route was led by Taishi Ci, cutting off the reinforcements from Yinguang, which was Taishi Ci's old trick, and Taishi Ci did it with ease.

  The autumn weather was crisp and refreshing, and the march was very pleasant. In less than three days, Li Chong arrived within the borders of Mayi County. At this time, scouts came to report that the county magistrate of Mayi led a thousand soldiers to respond to the battle, and Li Chong hastily stopped his footsteps and ordered the whole army to be on guard.

  The place where Li Chong was located was very desolate and spacious, just suitable for the two armies to fight. Li Chong had an advantage in military strength, so he arranged a formation with strong attacking power. The two wings were opened, each with 100 cavalrymen as vanguards, led by Liao Hua and Jiang Qin respectively. The central army had 2,000 people, all of whom were infantrymen.

  This is a formation similar to the Crane Wing Formation. As long as the two armies engage in battle, Liao Hua and Jiang Qin will lead the cavalry to charge into the enemy's rear array, and then the two wings will encircle and annihilate the enemy army.

  Of course, this is just Li Zhongyi's wishful thinking, and the specific situation can only be seen after the war.

  In less than the time it takes to burn a joss stick, the County Magistrate of Mayi led one thousand soldiers to respond to the battle. Li Chong stood high and looked out, but saw that the defenders of Mayi were hesitant in their steps, and he was very pleased in his heart, thinking: I'll see how you can still hold on.

  The defenders of Mayi really didn't want to come out and fight, but they had no choice. If they hid behind the city walls and refused to come out, Li Chong could finish harvesting the wheat and leave with his army. In this era, as long as there was food, it wouldn't be hard to attract refugees. Moreover, Li Chong had taken away all the grain, so what would the people of Mayi eat? Would they drink the northwest wind?

  Both sides lined up, and the Magistrate of Mayi County rode his horse to the front of the formation and said a lot of nonsense. It was nothing more than that the last time's matter was just a misunderstanding, all because Yang Chou stirred up trouble, etc. However, the Magistrate of Mayi County still expressed his apologies and stated that if Li Zhong was willing to retreat his troops, Mayi County would be willing to offer 5,000 stones of grain to resolve this feud.

  Li Chong carefully calculated and suddenly felt that this method was not bad, gaining 5,000 stones of grain. However, Li Chong could not leave behind future troubles. Thinking of this, Li Chong immediately proposed a condition: withdrawing the army was not out of the question, but the Magistrate of Mai County must dispatch another 500 troops to follow Li Chong in attacking Yinguang.

  These five hundred are not only hostages but also a guarantee. As long as these five hundred people are in hand, the Magistrate of Mayi County will have to weigh his thoughts carefully.

  At this time, the Magistrate of Mayi County was in a dilemma. If he agreed to Li Chong's terms, he would inevitably fall out with Yang Chou; if he did not agree to Li Chong's terms, they would immediately clash arms. Looking at Li Chong's military formation, the Magistrate of Mayi County sighed endlessly.